Xiaolin Showdown: The Fifth Dragon
by Ojex XIII
Summary: The Xiaolin Monks are back in action and looking for new Wu with a new recruite. RaixKim pairing and possibly ClayxOC pairing. rated T for language and violence. and yes I know I suck at summaries. R&R please.
1. Chapter 1: The Memory Charm Bracelet

Disclaminer: I'll just this over with now. I don't own Xiaolin Showdown.

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Xiaolin Showdown:

The Fifth Dragon

Chapter 1: The Memory Charm Bracelet

A full moon hung in the starlit night sky over a vast, grassy valley. All seemed completely peaceful: the tall grass swaying in the gentle breeze; a few owls flying through the night sky; small insects buzzed lazily throughout the valley; and a small mountain range loomed in the background. Only one thing stood out in this picture, a small glint of gold shining in the moonlight in the exact center of the grassy fields. No one knew what this gold was, or that it even existed, but three individuals would soon find out.

Two strange figures soon flew past the full moon. One: a tall, young man with a liquid paper white face and spiky red hair, wearing his signature black trench coat and bright yellow goggles, and also had a strange mechanism on his back that seemed to be a backpack with two ceiling fans on long poles sticking out of it, almost like a personal helicopter. The other: a small, purple, ghostly figure, its only solid feature was a mask that served as its face. The young man landed in the grassy plain, the blades on his back reseeding into the mechanism, and began to search with the ghost hovering over his shoulder.

"Thank you again, Jack." the ghost said in its witchy voice. "I really appreciate you taking me back after I left you for Chase Young."

"Don't count your blessings, Wuya." Jack complained. "I'm only taking you back until I can build a new detect-o-bot." he bent over and pulled a few clumps of grass apart. "Now what's the Wu we're looking for again?"

"It's called the Memory Charm Bracelet. Who ever wears it can rearrange and recreate the memories of their foe. It is essential to our- I mean your plans to take over the world." Wuya explained.

"Wait, doesn't the Wushan Geyser that those Xiaolin Losers have already do that? Why would there be two Wu with the same power?" Jack argued.

"No." Wuya said. "The Wushan Geyser can only erase a persons memories. The Memory Charm Bracelet can rearrange them and even create brand new memories. Think: with it, we could brainwash the young Xiaolin Warriors into fighting for us instead of against us." She began to laugh evilly.

"You've been working on your evil laugh. Nice work!" jack complemented.

"Eh, shut up and get to work boy," Wuya mumbled. "It isn't far off."

As the self proclaimed 'evil genius' and the ghostly hag continued to search, nether of them noticed a mysterious cloaked figure moving swiftly through the valley, also searching for the same mystical object.

At least an hour later, Jack shot out of the grass holding a thin golden chain with three small charms in his hand. "HA! This Wu is mine! And I didn't even have to win it in a Showdown." Jack was very pleased with himself. He held the golden chain up to the moonlight just to gloat, even if Wuya was supposedly the only other being there. Then, as quickly as Jack had grasped it in his hand, the chain disappeared, snatched up by a dark blur the blocked out the moon for a mere fraction of a second. "Huh? HEY! Who the hell took the Shen Gong Wu?" Jack began to look around frantically, not even noticing when Wuya accidentally passed through him. His gaze finally stopped on a cloaked figure in the distance, tossing the golden bracelet in its hand.

Jack pulled the Monkey Staff out of his pack. "Monkey Staff!" he called out. He slowly began to change and become more monkey-like. His teeth grew long and sharp, his toes grew into fingers, and a tail sprouted from the back of his pelvis. "All right, hand over the Bracelet and I won't have to kick your ass!" he called as he grasped the staff with his tail. The cloaked figure flicked its head back slightly, motioning for Jack to attack. Jack howled loudly and went charging at the thief.

The thief caught the bracelet in its hand one last time, then extended its arm, dangling the thin chain by it index finger. Jack latched onto it with his hairy monkey hand, growling softly at who ever this person was. "Fine! Your loss, bucko! I'm calling a Xiaolin showdown!" the thief nodded in exception. "All right, my monkey staff against your… do you even have any Wu to wager?" The thief nodded, and then stuck its hand in a large pocket on the side of its cloak. It pulled out what looked like a golden ram skull on a stick with over-sized horns.

Wuya gasped. "It is the Hitsuji Hammer! With it, one can destroy anything, they could even reduce a mountain it rubble within a matter of swings!"

"Mountain to rubble eh? I like the sound of that! And it gives me a great idea!" Jack grinned. He turned back to the cloaked person. "Ok, the game is King of the Mountain! First one to reach the top and grab the bracelet wins!" The thief nodded. "Ok, let's go, Xiaolin Showdown!"

A flash of light emitted from the bracelet. A mountain then shot up from the ground, reaching above the clouds. Boulders and rocks began to crash down from its peak and lightning began to fall from the sky, striking random spots on the mountains rocky surface.

Jack, still in his monkey form, began to beet on his chest and howl like an animal before yelling, "Gong Yi Tanpai!" and beginning to race up the rocky slop. The cloaked person soon followed at a slow and steady pace rather than running.

Jack was on fire: dodging boulders and lightning with ease; jumping from cliff to cliff with agility and grace; he even stopped to gloat every now and again. His victory seemed inevitable, for his opponent was merely standing at the base of the mountain, as if waiting for the perfect moment. Jack stopped about half way up and grinned down at his neutral opponent. "What's the matter?" he gloated loudly, "Afraid that that you'll slip and fall?" he laughed again, sounding more like a monkey, and began back up the mountain. The cloaked figure suddenly took action. It dug into its pocket and, without even calling its name, slammed the Hitsuji Hammer against the rocky surface. A crack shot up from where the hammer made contact, seeming to home in of jack. The fissure finally caught up with him, knocking the cliff he stood on clean off the side of the mountain. The figure took advantage of Jacks panic and finally began to proceed up the mountain, jumping off of loose boulders and falling debris, and at one point Jacks face. It was half way there in half the time that Jack had made it. When Jack finally slammed against the ground below, being saved only by him monkey agility, the cloaked figure grabbed the bracelet from the mountains summit, holding it up to the moonlight in its success.

The bracelet flashed again. The mountain reseeded back into the ground and the monkey staff vanished from Jacks grasp, reverting him back to his normal form.

Jack stood there, starring at the mysterious person and mourning the loss of his precious monkey staff, the last Shen Gong Wu he had. "Who are you?" he finally asked, with a surprisingly serious tone. The person tilted its head to the side slightly, then tossed something to the ground before gliding through the grassy plane and out of sight. Jack watched it disappear over the horizon before picking up what it had dropped. He examined its sleek, jagged body and color before for a few seconds before blurting, "A gold lightning bolt?"

"It's one of the charms from the bracelet." Wuya explained. "The symbol for people I believe."

"So, what's that mean?"

"It means that a victim of the bracelet won't be able to forget a person until that charm is reattached. Which means that we a have some leverage, should the Xiaolin monks ever get their hands on it. And it also means that we have a working part of a Shen Gong Wu!"

"I see." Jack said as he activated his flying machine on his back, or 'helabot' as he called it, and flew off.

Wuya could be heard for miles yelling, "Jack, you incompetent fool! You lost our last Shen Gong Wu! The last damn one!" at she and the evil boy genius zoomed through the night sky.

THE NEXT DAY

The exact same valley was now bright and sunny, with birds chirping in the distance, squirrels prancing around silently, and the occasional hawk swooping down to catch a mouse. Yes, nothing could've broken the peace of this picture… except a giant serpent-like creature with four teenagers on is back flying over head. The four teenagers leapt off of the serpents; or rather dragons back as it shrank down to the size of a small snake and landed in the grassy plane.

"I can't believe you didn't wake us right away!" Kimiko complained. She pushed her hair, which she'd dyed blond and tied into a pony tail that day, out of her eyes and glared down at the dragon.

"Hey, for the hundredth time, I'm SORRY!" Dojo groaned. "I can't help it if my WU senses don't work until I've had my morning coffee!"

"Now, quick yer bickerin', you two." Clay interrupted. "We've got a Shen Gong Wu to find."

"If Jack and Wuya haven't already taken it." Kimiko whispered to Raimundo.

Dojo started to glance around, trying to figure out which direction the Shen Gong Wu was in. he seemed puzzled and continuously looked back and for the between the west and the east, the direction of the Xiaolin Temple. "That's weird." The dragon mumbled.

"What is wrong Dojo?" Omi asked.

"I seem to be getting the signal from two different directions."

"Uh, could you repeat that?" Rai asked. "I think you just said two different directions."

"I did." Dojo explained. "I'm getting the Memory Charm Bracelets signal from both the east and the west."

"That makes about as much since as a bull roping a person." Clay announced, using one of his many colorful, and confusing, metaphors.

"I know, but it's true! We'll need to split up and search in both directions."

Everyone's eyes immediately turned to Rai. "What? Just because I'm the leader I have to decide who goes with who?" he asked. "Why doesn't Clay decide or something?" then he realized what he'd just said.

Clay gave an evil smirk. "Ok, Rai. I'll decide who goes with who." He dug into his pocket and tossed the crouching cougar to Kimiko. "Kim, you and Rai take the crouching cougar to the east while Omi and I take Dojo to the west." Clay then turned to Rai, still grinning, and cocked an eyebrow.

Raimundo knew exactly what he was doing. This was one of Clays many attempts to get him and Kimiko together. Clay had done this many times after Rai had become a Shoku warrior, always telling Rai to make a move or taking Omi out of a room and leaving him and Kimiko alone together. So far, however, his efforts have been unsuccessful.

Rai grabbed Clay by the sleeve as Kim activated the cougar and Omi got onto Dojo's back. "I swear, Bailey, if you don't stop this I'll-"

"Oh c'mon partner. You know you like her." Clay whispered, trying not to dray attention from the others, "And I recon that she likes you too."

"Listen, cowboy," Rai growled, "Just mind your own damn business. My relationship with Kim is my own business, and right now we're just friends." He let go of Clay's sleeve and jumped into the cougar.

Clay jumped onto Dojo's back and pulled his hat down slightly. "What ever you say, partner. Whatever you say."

RAI AND KIM

It had been an hour since the group had separated. Rai and Kim had realized to late that whoever had the Shen Gong Wu wasn't going to show up on the radar anytime soon if at all. So, after about 'debating' on what to do for about five minutes, they finally decided to just stop for a while and enjoy the view. Rai was a bit surprised when Kim suggested his, but how could he refuse? Kim had given him that sad puppy dog face. So, they ended up parking the cougar near a lake and just sat there for a while watching time pass.

"So Rai, what were you and Clay talking about before we left?" Kim finally asked.

Rai had been dreading this question. Who knows how Kim would react if he told her the truth. Would she go into a blind rage and not rest until Clay's rotting corps was buried six feet under ground; burst out laughing; or confess some hidden feelings? Whatever it was, Raimundo was about to find out. "Well, it's kinda stupid actually." He grinned suspiciously, itching the back of his neck. Kimiko narrowed her eyes. "Ya see, he's kind of been trying to, please don't hit me, get us… together. I was just telling him to stop before we left."

Kim's slight smile faded into a frown. "Oh… I see." She murmured, lowering her head slightly. She seemed sad, almost disappointed.

Rai could've sworn he saw a tear or two roll down her cheeks. "Kim is there something you want to tell me?" he asked. He placed his hand over hers and scooted a little closer. Kim looked up at him and looked like she was about to say something, when wouldn't you know it, Dojo swooped down over the cougar and landed at its feet. _Oh, perfect timing, _both Kim and Rai thought. The dragons of fire and wind quickly pulled away from each other just before Omi jumped onto the front of the cougar.

"Hello friends. Why are you just hanging about here?" Omi said.

Kimiko giggled. "I think you mean 'hanging around' Omi. And we just stopped because we couldn't find the Wu."

Rai looked down at Clay and Dojo as Kim and Omi continued to ramble on. He noticed Clay grinning slightly and giving him a thumbs up as if saying, "Way to go!" Raimundo pulled a small red stone out of his pocket, being very discreet, and whispered under his breath, "Ruby of Ramses."

Clay suddenly went flying into the lake, taking Dojo, who was now sitting on his hat with him. Rai chuckled to himself before stowing the ruby back in his pocket and shouting, "Hey Clay man, what happened?"

Clay spat out a mouthful of lake water and threw some weeds off of his hat before answering. "Alright, which one of you no good varmints has the ruby?" Everyone, including Dojo for some reason just started laughing.

"Alright kids, let's get going." Dojo suggested as he and clay got back to dry land. "I'm almost positive that we've lost this one. Not like Jack Spicer will do anything productive with it."

THE TEMPLE

The rest of their day was completely normal, or as normal as it got when you had the ability to summon the power of the elements at will and had a vault full of magical objects just beneath your feet. Kimiko chatted with her friends back in Japan over her PDA; Raimundo just sat around on the roof, being as lazy as ever; Omi practiced over complicated martial arts moves; and Clay (after changing into dry clothes) began to plot his revenge after seeing Rai put the ruby away. It wasn't until just before dinner that night that anything interesting happened.

Omi came stumbling into the bed chamber, half asleep from training all day, and plopped down on the mat in what Master Fung called his room, which was on the far right of the door. He half opened his eyes to get a quick look at the familiar surroundings before falling asleep. It was completely bare. "Where are all my things?" he asked himself. He lifted up the curtain that normally would've separated his room from Clays. He was shocked to find himself looking into his own room. He then raced out of the curtained area he was in and began to count. "… two, three, four… five?"

"Hey Omi, time for supper little partner!" called Clays voice from just outside the chamber.

"Clay, come here for a moment, will you?" Omi called back.

"Could we hurry this up Omi?" Clay asked as he walked up to the short monk with the oversized head. "I'm hungrier than a starved frog in a room full of flies."

"Clay, could you please tell me how many rooms you see?"

"Five." Clay said as his stomach growled.

"Repeat that."

"Five… FIVE!"

Clay and Omi could be heard yammering about the fifth room all the way from the kitchen as they made their way through the corridors. Rai and Kim were going to ask what they were talking about as the cowboy and the bald kid took their seats, but Master Fung walked in before the could get the chance. "Good, you are all here." He said, "I have good news."

"Yeah, really good news!" Dojo agreed as he slithered into the room, followed by a mysterious new face. It was a girl who looked about Clay's age; it was obvious that she was Chinese, despite the blond hair; she wore a plain yellow tank top and a black miniskirt; but the one thing that separated her from anyone else was a multitude of small scars running up her left arm, they almost looked like fang marks.

"Young Monks, may I introduce you're newest training partner and the dragon of lightning: Saya. She has just returned to the Temple after a seven year journey.

"Hello." The new girl said, getting a good look at everyone.

Everyone greeted her back and began to eat, except for Omi. "I am most curious." The bald monk said, "Master Fung said you were 'returning' to the temple. This means you have been here before?"

"I thought that was you, Omi. You always were full of questions." Saya replied. Then she did something that no one, except Master Fung and Dojo perhaps, expected. She haled off and hugged the little monk. "You've grown up a lot since I last saw you." She said after pulling herself away a few seconds later. "You haven't gotten much taller though." She giggled.

"O-ok, as Raimundo would say: that was whacked out." Omi stuttered.

"You mean whacked up." Rai corrected him.

"That too. But now I am most curious… again. How do you know me and why did you hug me?"

"Oh, now I'm hurt Omi." Saya grinned. "You mean you don't even remember your own older sister?"

Everyone froze. Master Fung and Dojo were smiling; Rai, Kim and Clay stopped eating and starred in shock, Clay had already chewed food in his mouth; and Omi fainted. "Well," Clay said after swallowing, "That was about as expected as a flaming cat riding a unicycle."


	2. Chapter 2: Sister

Chapter 2: Sister

Omi awoke an hour later, still on the kitchen floor, to find his friends, Master Fung, Dojo, and his supposed sister kneeling over him. "Oh," he groaned, rubbing his head. "I had the strangest dream. A new girl came to the temple and said she was my… sister!"

"I'm afraid that's what happened, lil' partner." Clay said, pointing his thumb towards the blond girl sitting next to him.

"Sorry about surprising you like that Omi." Saya pleaded. "I really thought you'd remember me. I guess that's what happens when I leave when my little brother is only five years old."

At the words "little brother", Omi jumped to his feet and started pointing and yammering like a crazy person. "How could you possibly be my sister!? I am an orphan! I have lived in this temple my howl life and have never known my family! You're outside of your brain! And you," Omi then turned to Master Fung, "If she truly is my sister then why did you never tell me!? I have gone most of my life not knowing that I actually have family out there! Why did you not…"

"Please, Omi, calm down." Master Fung said. "I will explain to you all shortly. But first, I believe that Saya needs to be shown to her room. Clay, if you don't mind?"

"Not at all Master Fung sir." Clay replied. "Come along little lady." Clay said as he stood up and offered to help Saya do the same.

Saya, blushing slightly, took Clay's hand and he pulled her up. "Oh, quite the gentlemen I see. You chose him well, Master Fung." She said as she and Clay walked out of the room.

THE MEDITATION HALL

After Clay had helped Saya unpack what few possessions that she had; which included a hand mirror, a framed picture of what Clay guessed was her family from years ago (a small baby in the picture did look a lot like Omi), a few small trinkets, and a strange looking staff which Saya insisted on taking to the meditation hall with them; they joined the other monks in the hall. Omi still seemed a bit dizzy from what Saya had said earlier and Rai and Kim were doing what they could to keep him calm.

"Now then," Master Fung said as he entered the hall. "As I said earlier, I would explain about Saya's sisterhood to Omi. However, I believe that you would like to instead, Saya?"

"Yes, Master Fung." The girl replied. "I would like that." She stood up, handed the staff to her Sensei and turned to the others. "You see, Omi… isn't really my brother. My parents adopted him a few days before they were both killed in an accident." A tear slid down her cheek at that point, "We ended up coming here afterwards because I refused to let Omi go back to an orphanage. I'm pretty sure Dojo here remembers caring for Omi while he was an infant." Dojo groaned as he recalled those days. "I was only three when we arrived, so it was about two years before Master Fung told me I was to become the Dragon of Lightning. I was eager to start my training right away and became a Wudai Warrior by age eight. Despite my age, Master Fung had complete confidence in me and sent me off to find my Wudai Weapon. So, that's why I've been gone for the past seven years. But now, I'm back and here to stay!"

Everyone nodded and took in the blond girls' story. Omi seemed especially interested for multiple obvious reasons. "I'm sorry if I got your hopes up about finding your parents, Omi." Saya continued. "But I'm afraid we don't know who your real ones are."

"It is alright. I'm just happy to find someone from my family, even if adopted." Omi said with a big grin. "Though you shouldn't expect me to call you… oh who am I fooling? I guess I'm calling you sis from now on!" his grin grew even more.

Saya revealed a small smile. "Thank you, Omi." She got down to her knees and hugged her little brother. "You don't know what that means to me."

THE NEXT DAY

Everyone woke up bright and early the next morning, even Raimundo. Master Fung had decided to give them the day off from training in celebration of Saya's return, so everyone was just enjoying themselves. Omi and Saya were getting to know each other; Clay was practicing his trick roping with Dojo sitting on his hat; and Kim was chasing after Rai who'd once again stole her PDA.

"Ah, it feels good to be in these robes again." Saya sighed as she tightened her Wudai sash around her red Xiaolin robe. "So Omi, what's life around here like now that there are more people our age around?"

"It is most interesting!" Omi replied, emphasizing 'most'. "Clay is an excellent cook, admittedly much better than any of the elder monks. Raimundo is a trouble maker, as you can plainly see." Omi grabbed Saya's sleeve and pulled her down instinctively as Rai and Kim went flying over top of them. "He is always getting on Kimiko's bad side, stealing her things and such. And Kimiko has a very short temper. She is…" He paused for a second. Now that he had a sister, it would probably be smart of him to avoid his wisecracks about girls being weak, "… a very important asset to our team, however. As is everyone else."

"I see." Saya replied. "So, I bet you're the Shoku warrior now, aren't you?" she asked with a smile.

Omi hung his head and pouted. "Sadly, no. Raimundo has taken that spot." He groaned.

Saya giggled. "Well, you can't win everything."

Raimundo and Kimiko suddenly stopped their chase right in the two sibling's path. Both were trying to catch their breath. Rai had his stupid grin on his face while Kim's was expressing nothing but rage. "Raimundo… Pedrosa!" Kim huffed.

"Raimundo Pedrosa!" Rai mocked in a high pitched, girly voice.

"Stop it!" Kim shouted.

"Stop it!" Rai copied again.

"STOP MOCKING ME!!!"

"Stop mocking me!"

"Damn it Rai! I swear, if you don't stop it right now I'll…" Kim started.

"You'll what?" Rai asked in a cocky sounding voice. "Slap me silly? Burn me to a crisp? Murder me in my sleep? Stop me if I guess right." Then he took off again.

"Argh!" Kim growled before continuing the chase.

Saya giggled again. "How cute." She said. Then Omi got that confused look on his face again, almost like having a giant question mark hovering above his head. "Clay was right. You can be really dense sometimes." Saya mumbled. "Why do you think those two fight all the time?"

"Because Raimundo is annoying and Kimiko has a short temper." Omi answered with a straight face.

"No, knuckle head." Saya said, knock him on the head lightly. "Those two obviously have feelings for each other and they're hiding it from everyone else, and possibly themselves, with fighting. Understand?"

"No…" Omi said, again, with a straight face.

Saya slapped her hand against her forehead. "Man, am I glad I left the temple when I did. I might've ended up as thickheaded as you are." She chuckled before walking off.

Omi stood there and pondered her words for a moment. Then he realized what she meant. "HEY! Was that an insult!?" he shouted, his head seeming to grow twice as big as normal.

"It's part of having a sister kid." The blond called as she walked towards the temple. "You'll get used to it eventually."

THREE HOURS LATER

The five young monks had gotten news a couple hours later that a new Shen Gong Wu had revealed itself. Saya was overjoyed, having never used one before. So, Dojo grew to his larger form and they jumped onto his back, heading for the location of the Wu: The Rocky Mountains.

"So, what's this new Wu we're looking fer?" Clay asked as Dojo soared over the mountain range.

"It's called the Yajuu Card, or the Card of the Beast." Kimiko explained as she unrolled the Scroll of the Shen Gong Wu. "It has the power to summon any mythical beast to aid the user. But there's a catch. The card can only be used once every twenty-four hours… and if the creature you summon isn't called back soon enough, it'll turn against you. And sorry Dojo, dragons count as mythical."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Dojo grumbled. "Now, if I remember correctly, Dashi used the Tunnel Armadillo to drill into the mountain to hide the card. Then he used the Rio Reverso so no one would see that the mountain was tampered with. So, the card should still be there."

Kimiko turned to Omi. "You know what to do," she said.

Omi nodded and pulled the Falcons Eye out of his sleeve. He muttered the Wu's name under his breath and placed it against his eye. He could instantly see through any solid object. Most of what he saw inside the mountains were rocks and the occasional lava pocket, but there were occasional glints of gold. "Ok," he said. "There is a one speck of gold close to the surface over there." He pointed to a small mountain.

"Alright. Next stop: the Yajuu card!" Dojo announced as he soared downward to land.

"Canine Crossbow!" shouted the oh so annoyingly familiar voice of Jack Spicer. A small black dart shot from out of nowhere and exploded on contact with the dragon's scaly green body, sending Dojo plummeting to the ground.

Thinking quickly, Omi shouted, "Sphere of Yun!" as he pulled it out of his sleeve, trapping his fellow monks and Dojo inside for a semi-safe landing.

Jack and Wuya hovered over head with a small army of Jack-bots behind them, Jack held a gold and bronze Crossbow in his hand. "Excellent work Jack! Now hurry, steal the Serpents Tail from them so we can get the card!" Wuya demanded.

"Easy, Wuya." Jack argued. "This isn't quite over. Jack-bots, attack!"

On Jack's command, the robots glided passed their creator to fight with the monks.

Omi quickly replaced the sphere back into his sleeve after the landing. "Alright Raimundo, you are the leader. What should we do?" he asked with little, if any, enthusiasm.

"Clay, earth is your element. You take the serpents tail to get the card. The rest of you stay and fight off the robots." Raimundo ordered as he tossed the Serpents tail to Clay.

"Gotcha. I'll be back quicker than a jack rabbit on steroids." Clay replied.

"Oh no you won't! Canine Crossbow!" Jack shouted, pulling the trigger on his crossbow and shooting yet another exploding dart at the monks. A cloud of dust rose up from the explosion and clay tripped over an unseen rock, sending the Serpents tail soaring through the air.

"Man, what's with this guy and his crossbow?" Saya asked as she flipped over on of the robots and it crashed into the ground.

"That is Jack Spicer, a so called evil boy genius, though he doesn't show it much." Omi explained. "He's been on the hunt of the Shen Gong Wu as long as we have."

"And that's the Canine Crossbow." Dojo broke in, "It shoots an infinite number of exploding darts that home in of the target, like a bloodhound does with an escaped prisoner. And just for fun, Master Dashi made darts look like little dogs."

"That's right, baby!" Jack shouted triumphantly. "And now it's not the only damn Shen Gong Wu I have ether." He held out his other hand to reveal the he now had the Serpents Tail. "And if you'll now excuse me, I have a card to find. Serpents Tail!" The tail suddenly sprang to life and dragged Jack right into the Mountain.

Saya gritted her teeth. "Not on my watch!" she growled. "Kimiko, throw me the silk spitter." Kim reluctantly tossed the blond the Shen Gong Wu. Saya then pulled out her Wudai Weapon (the same staff she had in the meditation temple), pointed it to the ground, and called out its name. "Plasma Scepter!" a bolt of lightning suddenly shot from the gem at the scepters top and crashed into the mountains rocky surface, creating a crater that wasn't to wide but very deep. She blasted into the hole twice more until she saw a golden sparkle at the bottom. She jumped in, landing at the bottom and placing her hand on the card just as Jack, still holding onto the Serpents Tail, rose zoomed out of the hole walls and grabbed onto the card as well.

"Alright new girl, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown." Jack said, pulling the card towards him slightly.

"The name's Saya and I accept your challenge, Jack." Saya replied angrily.

"Ok, my Canine Crossbow against your Silk Spitter. The game is Target Practice; first one to nail ten targets wins!"

Back on ground level; Omi, Rai, Kim, and Clay had just finished taking out the last of Jacks robots. They regrouped close to the hole that Saya had created with her Plasma Scepter. "Friends, have you seen my sister?" Omi asked.

His question was answered quickly by the ground around them cracking, separating, and rising into the air; Fragments of rock began to float through the area, which was now completely sky; on one of the larger ground fragments sat the Xiaolin Monks, Dojo and Wuya; on another stood Saya and Jack, still struggling to keep their grip on the card; white and red targets then began to appear in random places. "Gong Yi Tanpai!" the two competitors shouted. The Yajuu card vanished from sight as the showdown began.

Saya immediately jumped from her starting position, landing on a smaller rock. She aimed carefully but quickly as pulled the trigger on the Silk Spitter, nailing the two targets she'd chosen. She then flipped backwards and shot three more before even landing. "Ha, I'm already half way done! What's the matter Jack, ya got weak knees?" she called to Jack sarcastically.

"I'll start when I'm damn well ready and I'll still beat you." Jack said in a surprisingly calm voice.

"What ever you say, loser." Saya giggled. "Silk Spitter!" she blasted yet another target. She began to survey the area. There were plenty of targets left, but they were all on Jacks side of the arena and there was no way the Silk Spitter could shoot that distance. She started toward the other side, jumping from rock to rock, and eventually Jacks head. She then pulled the trigger and took out three more targets.

"Ok new girl, now I'm mad!" Jack raised the crossbow and shouted its name without even aiming. A black dog shaped dart fired. It homed in quickly, nailing Saya in the back and letting out a fiery bang. Saya found herself paralyzed from the pain. She dropped the Silk Spitter into the bottomless chasm below. She soon fell from her perch on the rock and followed after it. Jack laughed in triumph as he pulled the trigger on the crossbow again, sending ten darts flying in random directions and taking out ten targets simultaneously.

The ground fragments began to join back together and reform the mountain range. Saya appeared out of thin air in Clay's arms, unconscious; and Jack stood next to Wuya, now holding the Canine Crossbow, Serpents Tail, Silk Spitter, and Card of the Beast under his arm. He gave the Monks his patented goodbye, "So long losers!" before reactivating the Hela-bot and flying off with Wuya.

CHASE YOUNGS DOMAIN

Chase sat quietly at a table in his hidden domain sipping a bowl of the Lao-Mang-Lon soup. He was patiently awaiting the arrival of the Ying-Yang Bird… and Hannibal Roy Bean. Hannibal apparently had some information that Chase may find interesting. _Hmph, not likely_, Chase thought. What information could that bumbling bean possibly have that would be of any interest to the all mighty Chase Young. He gulped down the last of his soup as a bird cried out from overhead. A strange black and gray bird landed on the table in front of him and a small red bean with a face jumped off of its back. "Let's get this over with, Hannibal. What is this news you're so eager to tell me?" Chase groaned.

"Trust me; I'm just as pleased to see you as you are to see me." Hannibal agreed. "Now, I have reason to believe you have recently retrieved a certain Bracelet, correct?"

A small smile appeared on Chases face. "You mean the Memory Charm Bracelet… yes, I have it, though I wouldn't say I personally retrieved it. What's it to you? As I take it, you've never shown any interest in Shen Gong Wu."

"Yes, and neither have you. Why have sudden interests in this one?"

"I have my reasons. Now I suggest you leave, or I shall expel you from my home personally." Chase Threatened.

Hannibal frowned slightly. "Very well." He said as he jumped onto the Ying-Yang Birds back. The bird immediately took off, leaving as quickly as it had come. "But you know what the coming of the Shen Gong Wu means Chase! The fifth dragon has returned!" Hannibal Bean called as his bird carried him out one of the few windows.

"Oh yes, I know what it means." Chase mumbled as he watched the demonic bean and his pet vanish. "And I have already taken advantage of the situation." Chase turned to a small battalion of panthers. "You, retrieve the final charm from that worm Jack Spicer. I believe that the first phase of my plan should begin tonight."


	3. Chapter 3: Moonlit Battle

Chapter 3: Moonlit Battle

It was raining. Saya was leaning over the rail on one o the porches at the temple, trying not to think about her showdown with Jack the day before. She wasn't sure why, but the rain always seemed to help Saya relax. She loved the sound of the water droplets hitting the roof tiles and the smell of the air after it had been raining for a while. Maybe it was because the rain was connected to her element. Whatever the reason was, she needed to relax and her current atmosphere helped.

Saya turned towards the door as it creaked open. Out walked Clay, the person who'd been kind enough to carry her all the way back to the temple while she'd been unconscious the day before, even if most of the trip was on Dojo's back. "Hey there little lady, you feelin' ok?" he asked.

Saya giggled. "Yeah, I'm fine, Clay."

"Well what're ya doin' out here all alone while it's rainin'?" Clay asked as he leaned over the railing next to her.

"Just trying to relax." Saya explained. "I used to site under a tree while it rained and just listen to the rain hit the leaves all the time in my travels. And old habits die hard, as they say."

"I know what you mean." Clay chuckled.

The two of them just stood there for a bit longer, watching the sky as the rain cleared up and a cloud rolled away to reveal the sun. "By the way Clay," Saya said, suddenly breaking the silence, "I don't think I ever thanked you for what you did yesterday."

"It's alright." Clay said, pulling his hat off of his head, "You don't need to. I would've done the same for any of the others."

"I know I don't have to." Saya giggled. "But I want to." Then she did something that Clay hadn't expected at all: She kissed him on the cheek! This forced Clay to blush to no end so he quickly threw his hat back on and pulled it as far down as it would go without falling off. Saya giggled again. "There, I think that oughta' cover it." She said before walking back into the temple for lunch.

Clay just stood there, thinking over what had just happened. _Well I'll be damned_, he thought, _I can't think of a metaphor for this!_

JACKS BASEMENT

Jack stood over his table, eyeing his prize from yesterday's showdown with greed in his eye. The Canine Crossbow, The Yajuu Card, the Silk Spitter, the Serpents Tail, and a single charm from the Memory Charm Bracelet; four Shen Gong Wu, along with a fragment of one more, were now his! He was finally back in the race. "Now then, what powers do we add to my collection?" he hissed as he reached out of the golden card on his table. "I think I'll start with something small… Yajuu Card!" The card emitted a blinding light. When the light faded, a small, gray, humanoid creature was squatting on his shoulder, looking as innocent as a new born baby.

"What in the hell is that?" Wuya asked, eyeing the beast warily.

"It's a gremlin." Jack explained, "A feisty little creature with a delisiously evil sense of humor."

"Yeah, well it looks like what left over after you have a breakfast burrito." Wuya chuckled under her breath.

Jack, having not heard the hags comment, went on with his work. He summoned the gremlin back into the card and placed it into his Shen Gong Wu cabinet, along with the Crossbow, Silk Spitter, and Serpents tail. "So, how would I activate the charm without the Bracelet?" he asked Wuya.

"Just hold it up to someone and say _Lightning Charm_."

"Alright then." Jack quickly grasped the charm in his hand, spun around, and aimed it towards the hovering hag. "Lightning Charm!"

"Jack, what're you- what the?" She broke off as the charm took its toll. Her red pupils narrowed to the size of the dot on an i. "What the… Jack, I… can't seem to remember who I am." She said in a daze.

"HA, it actually works!" Jack shouted.

"Yes, yes, that's great. Now use that blasted thing so I can remember who the hell I am you fool!" Wuya blasted.

Jack shook his head. "You need to watch your language missy. A simple please would've sufficed." He called out the charms name again and Wuya quickly recalled her name, but seemed to completely forget the past fifteen seconds. "Wow, this thing works better than I thought!"

A roar from a jungle cat suddenly range out throughout the basement. A Black Panther leapt from nowhere, snatched the charm from Jacks fingers (taking extra care to scar the back of his hand), and jumped out of one of the windows from which Jack launched his jet. Five other panthers waited outside for it. The beasts glided over the lawn and over the fence, disappearing in the darkness of the night.

"You fool! Get those things before they get away!" Wuya ordered.

"Hey, I'm in serious pain here!" Jack snapped. "I'd appreciate it if you were silent while a scream like a little girl."

THE TEMPLE

That same night, the five young monks stumbled into the bed chambers. Master Fung had them working and training double time now that there were five of them. But, as Master Fung put it, twice the work today means half the work tomorrow. One of his thousand lessons that none of them were getting.

"Man, what is it with Master Fung these days?" Raimundo complained. "There's one more of us and he starts working us like there's a dozen."

"I know what you mean, partner." Clay groaned. "I'm as tired as... let's just skip the metaphor for once and say I'm really tired."

"Thank you." Kimiko said as she plopped down on the mat in her room. The others soon followed her example, all were asleep within five minutes.

The faint sound of foot steps and rustling of bushes came from the grounds at about midnight. It wasn't very loud, but it was enough to rouse the dragons of fire and wind and make them suspicious. "What the heck was that?" Kim asked as she pulled away her blanket and stood up, also not expecting an answer.

"I don't know." Rai answered, "Let's check it out."

After a quick trip to the vault for a few Wu, just in case, the two of them stepped outside to see what was going on. There it was, a mysterious hooded figure. It was standing on the courtyard a few yards away from the doorway Kim and Rai were standing in, as if it knew which door they would come out of, as if it was waiting for them.

"I'm only gunna ask this once." Kimiko announced as she pulled out the Thorn of Thunderbolt, "Who are you and what do you want?"

The figure shot forward, not even seeming to touch the ground. It pulled a hammer-like Shen Gong Wu out of its sleeve and used it to swat the Thorn of Thunderbolts out of Kim's hand. "Whoa! What Shen Gong Wu is that?" Kim asked after jumping back to avoid being hit by the hammer as well.

"I don't know," Rai answered, "But we'd better get it away from his guy before he can figure out what it does!" he pulled out a pair of sandals and threw them to the ground. He quickly slid them onto his feet and called out their name, "Fancy Feet!" He began to zip around like crazy, moving so fast that Kim could barely keep her eyes on him for more than a second. Rai charged straight for the hooded man, ready to snatch up the hammer. Then, with perfect timing, the hooded man jumped back just before Rai could grab, hitting the hammer against his back at the last second. Rai lost his footing and stumbled to the ground, skidding over the grassy yard.

"Rai!" Kim shouted. She grabbed the Thorn of Thunderbolts off of the ground and called out its name, sending a bolt of lightning directly at the man. With amazing speed, the hooded man swung around and, to both Rai and Kim's amazement, made the lightning bolt go a different direction by hitting it with the hammer. "No way!"

"What's this guy made of?" Rai asked as he struggled to get back to his feet. While the hammer had only tapped against his back, it had still caused a great deal of pain and bruising.

"His power comes for that Wu, if we can get it…" Kim started

"Don't tell him your plan girl!" Rai broke in.

The figure suddenly disappeared from sight, as if it had teleported or something. It reappeared in front Kimiko and smacked the thorn out of her hand again, taking extra care to hit her hand as well, breaking two of her fingers. Kimiko screamed in pain.

The hooded man took a few seconds to take in his victory: Kimiko screaming in pain; Raimundo barely able to stand; his mission would be all the easier with two Xiaolin Dragons out of the way, and the hammer would make sure they wouldn't come back. He raised the hammer slowly, watching the fear grow in Kim's eyes.

Raimundo watched this scene with nothing but rage, he wanted to stop that guy from hurting Kim, but what could he do? He was too weak to use his wind powers and the only Shen Gong Wu he had was the Fancy Feet. There was one other option… but it was risky and Kim might get hurt anyway. Rai gritted his teeth. "I don't give a damn about the consequences!" he said under his breath. "FANCY FEET!"

Kimiko watched in horror as the hooded figure raised the hammer, wondering what would happen when it made contact. _A few busted ribs and limbs, major bruises, a punctured lung or two… death doesn't sound so bad_. She thought sarcastically to herself. Might as well make the best out of the worst situation. She didn't even hear Raimundo shout the name of the Fancy Feet and didn't notice him zoom over and stop in front of her with his arms stretched out until it was too late. The hammer slammed against his chest with the sound of cracking bones. He went flying, landing only feet away from the temple walls. "Raimundo!"

Kimiko immediately got to her feet and ran to Rai's side, completely forgetting her hands condition. She looked him over quickly. He was clutching his chest and groaning, barely conscious. "Rai, what the hell were you thinking?" she was shocked at what happened next: despite everything that had happened, despite his condition, despite the fact that he could die; Raimundo managed to reveal a small grin.

"What can I say," he groaned. "I wouldn't forgive myself if anything like this happened to you."

Tears welled up in Kim's eyes. She glanced back quickly to find the hooded man gone, then looked back to find Omi, Clay, Saya, scrambling out of the temple to see what was going on, followed by Master Fung walking out a bit more urgently than usual with Dojo on his shoulder. Master Fungs eyes widened as soon as he saw Raimundo. "Kimiko, what happened?!" he asked urgently.

"Some guy in a cloak came to the temple. Rai and I went to check it out and he attacked us. He had this weird hammer… it looked kinda like a ram skull. I- what am I saying? There's no time to explain, Rai needs help now!"

THE NEXT DAY

There was good news, bad news, and worse news the next day. The bad news was, while not in critical condition, Rai was still in pretty bad shape. The good news was, if the other monks found a certain Shen Gong Wu called Chiyu Box, Rai would be back on his feet within a week and be able to travel again before another passed. The worse news was, if they didn't retrieve the Chiyu Box, it would take years for Rai to recover.

"What kind of Wu could've done this?" Kimiko asked. She was sitting in a chair next to Rai as he rested in his bed, which had quickly been upgraded to an actual bed for obvious reasons. "He was only hit by that hammer twice, and the first time was more like a brush of tap." She continued.

"It was the Hitsuji Hammer." Dojo explained sorrowfully as he unrolled the Shen Gong Wu scroll. He was sitting on top of Clay's hat and Clay was standing at the foot of Rai's bed. "Depending on the wielder… it can be ten times as powerful at the Fist of Tebigong. It has the power to bring mountains to the ground, so it's really a miracle that Raimundo survived.

Kim glanced down at her hand. It was completely covered in a thick white cast. "To think, I get out of this with only a few busted fingers… and it's only because Rai didn't care about himself." Tears began to roll down her cheeks again.

Saya placed her hand on Kimiko's shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up, Kim. I'm sure he would've done the same for any of us, just like any of us would've done for him." She said, trying to comfort her friend, but to almost no avail.

"My sister is right." Omi agreed. "You should not blame yourself."

Kimiko let out a sob before getting up from her seat. "You guys just don't understand." She whimpered as she stepped out of Rai's room, recalling his last words to her before he passed out completely.

Everyone watched Kimiko walk out of the room as she cried in complete confusion, except for Saya. "Well, what's got her water-works runnin'?" Clay asked, itching his head.

Saya shook her head. "I think she needs someone to talk to."

"Oh, I will do it!" Omi volunteered.

"Thanks Omi, but you're not the right person for the job." Saya explained, "This is a girl thing."

Saya found Kim sitting on the edge of the fountain, starring at her own reflection in the water. She was obviously depressed and deep in thought. And to make her feelings even more obvious, her cell-phone and PDA were sitting on the ground behind her, turned completely off. "Hey, Kim… wanna talk?" Saya asked in a calm tone, trying to sound like she understood.

"You know what the last thing Rai said to me was before he passed out?" Kim sobbed. "He said, '_I wouldn't forgive myself if anything like this happened to you_.'… He didn't just jump in the way to save his team mate or friend… he did it to save **me**. He didn't want to see **me** get hurt. It is my fault that he's in the condition that he is."

"No it's not!" Saya argued. "If anything, it's that cloaked guys fault for coming to the temple in the first place."

"Even so, if it weren't for me we wouldn't have to search for a Shen Gong Wu that might not even activate for years. If it weren't for me, Rai wouldn't have had to jump in the hammers way. If it weren't for- "

"Rai having a crush on you." Saya interrupted.

Kimiko was too shocked by what she'd just heard to even turn and glare at her friend. "It can't be that obvious… can it?" she asked. "I mean, I've always suspected that he had some sort of feelings… but I didn't think that anyone else could see it. I mean, he's always pulling pranks on me, stealing my stuff among other things."

"That should make it even easier to spot, girl." Saya said, taking a seat next to Kim on the fountain edge. "And from what I can tell, you like him too, don't you…"

"What! Whoa, no way! There's no way I could ever possibly… like Raimundo."

"Oh stop denying it!" Saya snapped. "You're red as a tomato, you won't stop crying, you won't stop blaming yourself for his injuries, do I need to continue?"

With her short temper, most people would've expected Kim to go off like a bomb and start yelling and screaming at the bland girl like there was no tomorrow. But no, anger didn't get the better of her this time. She looked up at Saya, whipped the tears from her face and said, "Thank you, Saya. I feel a little better now. But this still doesn't mean you're right!" she giggled.

"Deny it all you want Kim." Saya laughed. "Omi may be thick headed, but I could see a connection between you and Rai as soon as I got to the temple. And Clay, well, let's just say he's not stupid."

Kim smiled, "Got'cha." She said. The two girls got up and started back to the temple. "Now let's go back to the bed chambers, I wanna be there when Rai wakes up."

"Oh I bet you do." Saya joked.

"Shut up!" Kim shouted before punching Saya in the arm. But while they walked, questions continuously popped into her head. Was Saya right? Did she actually have feelings for Raimundo? Did Rai really protect her out of… love? These questions and more would be answered soon, for because of her hand, Kim was assigned to take care of Rai while the others looked for the Chiyu Box.


	4. Chapter 4: The Chiyu Box

Chapter 4: The Chiyu Box

Chase Young sat at the edge of a cliff on his eerie looking mountain lair, patently waiting for his pets to return with their prize. Despite the straight look on his face, anyone could easily tell that questions were racing through his head. One question in particular wouldn't stop prodding at his brain. Why had his minion given one of the charms to Jack Spicer? It irritated Chase to no end. The fool had challenged Chase, wagering his eternal loyalty, and had lost. How was it possible that the one who wielded the Hitsuji Hammer had defied him, even for a second? Chase lost his train of thought when six black panthers came leaping over the edge of the cliff.

Chase got to his feet and held out his hand to the beasts. The panther in the lead padded up to him and gave a small golden lightning bolt to him. It looked up to him, along with the other five, awaiting their next orders. "Excellent. Now get out of my sight." The group of panthers bowed to him and disappeared into the mountain cave.

Chase turned back to the sky, once again deep in thought. _So, I have the final charm to the bracelet at last. I wonder how he has been doing, memories of my face and name plaguing his dreams yet not knowing why he knows me. It almost seems like the perfect torture. _Chase chuckled at his own thoughts. _It would certainly seem like torture, if he had a consciousness to be tortured. _Chase looked down to the charm in his hand. He wasn't sure why, but now that he had the final peace to the bracelet, memories of his past were starting to surface. Memories of before he'd eaten the Lao-Mang-Lon soup. "I shall relieve him of his burden and be rid of these accursed memories." He raised his hand to the sky, dangling the charm ever so lightly between his thumb and index finger. He called out it name, erasing his minions final memories of his master.

Then, without so much as a word from Chase, a lioness came patting out of the entrance to Chases lair to take the charm from him. Chase was gladly rid of it. But, for the first time in fifteen-hundred years, Chase betrayed himself. For because of his own wishes and not turning to watch the lioness leave, he did not notice it suddenly change form. From a golden cat to a black and gray bird. The bird soared away, in one talon the lightning charm, in the other the rest of the Memory Charm Bracelet.

RAIMUNDO'S ROOM

"Are you sure that you don't need me to come with you guys?" Kim asked. Omi, Clay, Saya, and Dojo were about to leave to look for the Chiyu box, stopping by Rai's room to say goodbye to Kim and a still unconscious Raimundo. And despite the fact that Kim didn't really want to leave, she'd asked just so that Saya wouldn't make a smug remark before departing.

"No, we will be fine." Omi assured her.

"Yeah," Saya agreed. "And, no offence, but you'd probably just get in the way with your hand and all."

"We'll be back before you can say-" Dojo said, proceeding to say an extremely long and uninteresting sentence that no one was listening to. Dojo didn't seem to notice.

"And don't worry, we'll be back quicker than a-" Clay began. But he was cut off when Saya started pushing him towards the door.

"No time for metaphors now cowboy. You can give us a list on the way to the Shen Gong Wu." She said. The two of them could be heard arguing all the way to the courtyard. Omi and Dojo waved and said goodbye one last time before chasing after them.

And that was that. For the rest of the day and possibly days to come, Omi and the others would be gone from dawn until dusk, returning only to eat and sleep. It was going to be boring around the temple for a while: no Omi constantly practicing and making stupid remarks; no Clay practicing his trick roping and eating five meals a day; no Dojo for comedy relief; and no Saya to, well, just be Saya. And to make things worse, Kimiko would have practically no time for herself, having to constantly take care of Rai. But for some reason, that last part didn't seem to bother her that much.

_So, what to do now?_ Kim asked herself.

LOCATION UNKNOWN

"Excellent work my pet, you've brought me the first piece of the puzzle." Hannibal Bean said, praising his precious pet, the Ying-Yang Bird. "Now only a few pieces remain. But for my plan to work to its fullest, I will need more power." Hannibal rubbed his tentacle arm against what would normally be a person's chin, pondering what to do next.

It was true; the Memory Charm Bracelet was more than enough to begin his plan. But he'd need a few more Shen Gong Wu to complete it, and these few that he needed hadn't been found yet. And to make things worse, the only Wu that could stop him hadn't been found ether. So how to proceed? He needed leverage against the Xiaolin Monks, a pawn to do his bidding, and a scapegoat just in case. The scapegoat was easily within his grasp, but the pawn was needed before the scapegoat could be used in any manner. "All right, Yingy, now I need you to go the Xiaolin temple. Steal a multitude of Shen Gong Wu and offer them to that dumbass, what's his name? Jake Sprinkler or something." The Ying-Yang Bird crowed once and spread its wings to take off. "Oh, and one more thing, bring me the Moby Morpher!"

SAHARA DESERT

Jack Spicer, not Jake Sprinkler, stood upon a sandy dune in Africa's northern region, holding three new Shen Gong Wu under his arm, the Yajuu Card and Serpents Tail in his hand, and Wuya hovering over his shoulder. The first new Wu was a small golden statue of a sleeping boar, the second was a golden sickle, and the last was… a sombrero? Jack was beaming with delight at his almost effortless capture of these three Wu. The Xiaolin Monks hadn't even shown up to at least try and stop him. It was like a Christmas miracle!

"HA! This is great!" Jack grinned.

"Don't get cocky boy!" Wuya growled, "Just because the Monks haven't shown up lately doesn't mean they're gone for good. You need to be alert at all times."

"What for? I'm collecting Shen Gong Wu like crazy! Heck, with the Serpents tail and the Combo-Sickle I could easily steal every Wu that the Xiaolin Losers have and get away without so much as a noise." Jack explained holding out the Serpents Tail and the sickle-like Shen Gong WU that he'd just found. The Combo-Sickle, as it was called, had the ability to attach two or more objects together rather than splitting them like a normal sickle would.

"Or you could use the Serpents Tail to get the Hoduku Mouse back and stop yourself from losing half those Shen Gong Wu in the first place!" Wuya shouted.

"The Hokuku Mouse? But I dropped it in molten lava. It's long gone."

"What are you talking about?" Wuya grumbled. "The Emperor Scorpion survived in the earth's core for fifteen-hundred years. You think the Hoduku Mouse can't go a few months in a lava flow that's most likely cooled by now?"

"Hm, good point." Jack said. "So, what do these other two Wu do anyway?"

"Well, the Mariachi Sombrero plays Mariachi music when placed on your head and gives you amazing dancing abilities, for some reason. I think Dashi only used it for parties or something. Then there's the Sleeping Boar, I'm not quite sure what it does."

"So, I have a musical hat and an as of now useless pig statue. That's… irritating yet surprisingly pleasing. Plus I got this cool scythe! Now I've got a lethal weapon that can bind my targets to a wall or something first!"

"Oh shut up. Let's stash a few of these back at your house quickly before going after the Hoduku mouse."

"What's so important about that mouse anyway? All it can to is undo the users' mistakes. All we could do is get back a multitude of Shen Gong Wu, stop you from becoming a ghost again, and a few other things that I'm to lazy to mention right now."

"That's exactly my point you blathering idiot!" If it weren't for Wuya being a ghost, she would've strangled Jack right then and there. But as it were, that wasn't the case. Plus her thoughts of murder were quickly dismissed with the activation of yet another Shen Gong Wu. "Ah! The Chiyu box has just activated. The healing Wu is within my grasp."

"Hey, what do you mean **your** grasp?" Jack asked as he threw the Mariachi Sombrero on his head, the music started playing. "If anything, it's in my grasp. 'Cause you don't have a grasp, unless you can suddenly pick up things with those see-through hands"

"Stop falling back on old jokes and get going!"

AUSTRAILIAN OUTBACK

"Dojo, would you pick a direction and stick to it!" Saya yelled. Dojo had been flying in circles for over and hour now and it was starting to get on everyone else's nerves. Omi was, amazingly, perfectly balancing on his head while trying to suppress and on slot of angry shouting; Clay had fallen asleep; and Saya had already snapped, obviously.

"Hey I can't help it!" Dojo snapped. "Four different Wu have activated today and it's hard to keep track of just one of them. If I can't point out the Chiyu box in particular we might end up on the wrong side of the continent or something."

"Well figure it out already!"

"Geese, who put a wasp in your underwear, Sis?" Omi asked, finally flipping off of his head.

"Bee in yer britches." Clay corrected him in a voice that said _I'm still half awake_.

"That too. And give Dojo a break. Maybe if you wouldn't yell at him he could pinpoint the Shen Gong Wu we need."

"And maybe if your head wasn't so big you could've grown a few inches taller!"

Clay suddenly sat up, grabbed the two of them by the head and pulled them as far apart as possible. "Now quite yer bickerin'. We've all gone a little crazy from this heat and I for one have sun burn. Dojo, could you please try to get us in the right direction? I'd be more thankful than a dog eatin' a T-bone steak if ya did."

"I'd be glad to, Clay." Dojo replied, muttering, "Finally, someone asks nicely," under his breath. He circled around a few times before setting off in a south-west direction. "Look's like it's at Ayers Rock." He finally announced.

AYERS ROCK

Clay and Jack stood at the base of Ayers Rock, both crouching over and holding onto a small green box with golden edges and a silver padlock; the Chiyu Box. Omi, Dojo, and Saya stood not far off waiting for something to happen. A horde of trashed Jack-bots was scattered across the area. The Chiyu Box emitted a golden glow. "Clay, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown." Jack announced. "The game is Battle of the Beasts. You're Sweet Baby Among Us against my Yajuu card, whoever's creature to take out the other first wins!"

"Alright Jack, I accept yer challenge. Let's go, Xiaolin Showdown!"

The sky suddenly darkened with pitch black clouds; the piles of trashed Jack-bots started clumping together in a circle around Jack and Clay to form the arena; stone spikes towering fifteen feet tall shot out of random spots in the circle; and four gargoyle statues rose from the ground in a square pattern.

Clay and Jack had their Shen Gong Wu in their Hands. They both called out, "Gong Yi Tanpai!" and the Showdown started.

Clay tossed his golden statue of a chubby baby into the air and called out its name, "Sweet Baby Among Us!" the statue flashed and a giant golden baby came crashing to the ground.

Jack pulled a golden card out of his pocket and held it up to the sky. "Card of the Beast!" he called out. The card flashed before a wolf that stood on its hind legs with a hunched back and almost human looking front paws appeared out of thin air. It stretched out its arms and howled at the sky. "Let's see how that giant crap machine does against a werewolf! Attack!" the werewolf charged, zigzagging through the arena like a maze to confuse the Sweet Baby. The baby let out an earsplitting scream, the sound waves shattering multiple stone spires. Jacks werewolf jumped off of one of the spires, barely dodging the baby's scream, then it grabbed some of the shattered spire rocks from the ground and chucked them at its opponent, hitting it square in the forehead. This angered the baby and it began to shoot its diaper projectiles in at the werewolf. The wolf easily dodged them, slowly making its way closer and closer to the golden behemoth. Jacks wolf zoomed between the baby's legs just before it let out another scream. It flipped around, jumped onto the baby's back and sank its teeth into its neck. The baby cried in pain as it ripped the wolf from its back and threw it half way across the arena, launching another diaper projectile and hitting the wolf in the back. The wolf yelped as it skidded over the ground. It snarled before charging again, this time jumping from spire to spire to gain speed. It jumped into the air, fangs bared and claws outstretched, ready to land on the golden baby and tear it to pieces. It almost looked like it would succeed, only to be thrown back by another one of the baby's screams.

Omi, Saya, and Dojo watched this battle in utter silence. Despite the fact that Jack and Clay weren't actually doing anything, it was one of the most intense showdowns they'd ever seen, but that was kind of obvious in Saya's case. Not even Dojo could recall the last time the Sweet Baby Among Us was used like this. Omi was obviously amazed at how fast and agile Jacks werewolf was.

Jack's werewolf howled again. It began to circle in on the Baby with amazing speed. Within seconds, it had wrapped its claw around on of the baby's ankles, pulled it to the ground, ripped a spire from the ground, and smacked the baby in the back of the head knocking it out cold. The baby reverted to its statue form and disappeared from sight. The area went back to normal as Jack activated his Helabot and the Sweet Baby Among Us and Chiyu Box appeared in his arms. He gave the monks the usual, "So long losers," before beginning to fly off.

Clay slumped over for his defeat. He knew that they couldn't afford to lose the Chiyu Box and he'd blown it. Now they'd have to challenge Jack for it some other time if they wanted to help Rai any time soon.

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Omi muttered under his breath. Nine glowing dots appeared on his forehead. "Tsunami strike, WATER!" Omi leapt into the air. He met with Jack Spicer in the air, snatching the Chiyu box from his quickly and descending back to earth. "Dojo, get us away from this place!" Omi shouted, misusing the term, "Get us out of here."

"Hey, I won that fare and square! Give it back!" Jack complained.

"I would say I am sorry Jack Spicer," Omi said as he landed on Dojo's back after he changed size, "But we need this Shen Gong Wu more than you can understand." And with that, Saya and Clay jumped onto Dojo and he flew off.

THE TEMPLE

Kim was still sitting next to Rai's bed, trying her best to type on her PDA with one hand. She'd been sitting there all day doing absolutely nothing. Rai hadn't even woken up once! _Figures_, Kim thought, _I get shang highed into watching this guy and he doesn't even need anything!_ She'd actually thought this over throughout the past day. If it weren't for Master Fung's strict orders not to leave Rai's side unless absolutely necessary, she would've left hours ago. Or at least that's what she kept telling herself.

She looked down to the Brazilian boy on the bed. From her point of view, he looked fine, or about as _fine_ as a person in a comma could look. But under the quilt that covered most of his body was a cast over his left arm, liquid paper white medical bandages that covered most of his upper torso and shoulders, and a random assortment of other bandages for miner cuts. Kim shuttered at the feeling that this was her fault. "Maybe I should apologize to him when he wakes up." Kim said to herself.

Kim gasped when a groan came from the unconscious boy lying next to her. "Ugh… apologize… ugh… for what?" Rai groaned. Kimiko turned her head to find Rai's turned to her, though his eyes were still closed as far as she could tell.

"Rai! You're awake!" Kimiko gasped. She leapt up from her seat, dropping her PDA to the ground, to shout for Master Fung. But Rai, with a great deal of pain, lurched out with his good arm and grabbed her wrist.

"Answer… erg… the question, girl." He demanded.

Kimiko could've easily escaped his grasp, he was still very weak after all. But instead, she slipped her wrist out of his hand, knelt down next to him, and placed her good hand onto his forehead. "Like you need to ask Rai." She giggled. "You're like this because you jumped in the way of that hammer to protect me. It's the least I could do to apologize."

Rai smiled weakly. "Thanks. But you… ugh… don't need to. I'd… erg… do it again… ugh… if I had to." And with that, he passed out again.

OK, now she couldn't believe what she was hearing. He'd do it again? That did not sound like Raimundo at all. And why did her heart beat quicken Rai's word ran through her head. _Maybe Saya is right_, Kim thought, _maybe… maybe I have been denying it. Maybe I should just admit to myself that-_

Her thoughts were cut off as the all too familiar voice of a certain boy from Texas boomed throughout the temple. "We got it! We got the Chiyu Box!"


	5. Chapter 5: Secrets, Favors, and Surprise

Chapter 5: Secrets, Favors, and Surprises

Within seconds, Omi, Saya, and Dojo were in the bed chambers and were quickly followed by Clay and Master Fung, who was holding a small gold and green box with a silver padlock. There was an unintentional moment of silence for everyone to collect their thoughts before activating the Shen Gong Wu. Saya stood next to Omi with her hand on his shoulder and Clay stood at the foot of Rai's bed with Dojo sitting on his hat. Master Fung was the one to break the silence by clearing his throat. "Kimiko, I believe you might want to do the honors." He said as he placed the Chiyu Box into Kimiko's hands.

Kimiko blushed slightly as she took the box from her sensei. "Uh… sure Master Fung. I'd love to." She stuttered. She grasped the lid of the box before muttering its name. "Chiyu Box." The padlock, well, evaporated and the lid of the box slowly began to open itself. Inside were two small yellow tablets, no bigger than a normal pill by today's standards. She then shook Raimundo's shoulder gently, "Rai, wake up." She said softly, "I've got a special pill that'll make you better." Rai, seeming to be awake, nodded and opened his mouth. Kim placed the yellow tablet onto his tongue and he forced it down, she swallowed the second pill right after.

Rai's eyes suddenly bulged open. He suddenly shot up from his spot on his bed, supporting himself with his good arm and letting the covers fall to his lap. "Ugh, that stuff tastes like motor oil!" he gagged. He suddenly grabbed his chest with his broken arm. "Ow, my ribs! Ow, my arm!" He then flopped back onto the bed. "Ow, my spine!"

Master Fung began to make his way out of the room after Kimiko handed his the Chiyu Box. "I think I'll leave you six to celebrate." He said. "I don't want to be a burden."

"How do you feel, Rai?" Kim asked after Master Fung was out of ear shot.

"Like I just got hit by a semi truck." Rai groaned, giving a small smirk.

"That's good." Dojo said as he wiped the sweat off of his scaly forehead. "It could've been a lot worse, seeing as how that's only the second time that Shen Gong Wu's been used."

"What was that, Dojo?" Omi asked in a some what shocked voice.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you guys. The only other time that the Chiyu Box was used was after Grand Master Dashi's final battle with Wuya. It was still kind of… experimental at the time. You could kind of call this a final test run."

"Let me get this straight, Dojo." Rai said, giving Dojo a somewhat evil glare. "You used an **EXPERIMENTAL SHEN GONG WU ON ME!!! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING!!! YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW IF THERE ARE ANY SIDE AFFECTS!!! I SWEAR, IF I COULD MOVE I'D**-."

"Now calm down partner." Clay broke in. "It aint Dojo's fault that this is the only healing Shen Gong Wu. It was ether this or make you go through years and years of recuperation. If anything, you should be thankin' Dojo for thinking of the Chiyu Box as soon as he saw you the other night."

"Yeah." Saya agreed. "And you should be thanking Omi too, seeing as how he was the one that stole it back after **Clay **lost it to Jack Spicer."

"You lost a showdown to Spicer?" Rai said, holding back a laugh.

"Well it technically aint my fault." Clay explained. "Blame the Sweet Baby Among Us, it did most of the work." Rai cocked an eyebrow when Clay named the Wu he'd used. "What?" Clay continued, "Jack called for a battle of the beasts. And other than the Sapphire Dragon, that was the only Wu that can move freely without the need of a host that we have."

"What ever." Rai responded with a smirk

Omi was the next to speak. "Ok Raimundo, if what Master Fung and Dojo say is correct, you should be back on your feet in a week or so." he explained. "So, I guess until then, you will… have to name a second in command to temporarily take your place!" he said that last part quickly with a worried grin.

And of course, Raimundo answered Omi with, who could've guessed it, sarcasm. "Oh gee, I wonder who I could ask. I doubt that **Omi** would want the job, so…"

"WHAT! No, I will do it!" Omi broke in, completely oblivious to Rai's sarcasm.

"Well then, I guess that Omi has the job. But don't let it go to your head, little dude. You're just a plain old Wudai Warrior once I'm back."

"You can count on me, my friend!" Omi said in an assuring tone with his head held up high (or as "high" as Omi could hold it up at his height).

Kim and Saya, mean while, had remained silent for most of this conversation. Saya was quietly giggling at her brother's big headedness and Kim was waiting for the blond girl to glance her way. Why you ask, because for **unknown reasons** she wanted to be alone with Raimundo at the moment. She was waiting for a chance to send Saya a look that said, "Get Omi, Clay, Dojo, and you out of here. You know why." Finally, after what seemed like forever, but was really only a minute and a half, Saya turned her attention to the silent Japanese girl on the other side of the room. Kim quickly sent her the **look, **Saya understood immediately and nodded. "Say Clay, could you come with me for a while," she said. "I … uh… want to see some of that trick roping you were talking about earlier."

"Saya, it's ten pm. Why in the world would-." Clay suddenly stopped when Saya gave him a tense glare and started glancing between him and Kimiko. "Oh! Sure, Saya. I'd be delighted to show ya." With that, the two left the room, leaving Dojo and Omi there for the briefest time before storming back. "You guys come too." They said in unison as Saya grabbed Omi by the shoulder and dragged him out of the bed chambers and Clay threw Dojo onto his hat. They then walked out of the bed chambers again, leaving only Raimundo and Kimiko alone this time.

After the others had left, Kim slipped her hand out of its cast. Her fingers that had been broken mere minutes earlier were perfectly healed. The tablets from the box had worked. Though she did have to admit, she'd rather have her hand chopped off before taking another one, they really did, as Rai had put it, taste like motor oil. "Looks like those pills healed me up pretty quick. Too bad your still gunna be bed-ridden for another week."

"Hey, I'm just happy to be conscious." Rai joked.

"I'm glad you're awake too." Kim said softly, not even realizing that she'd said it out loud.

"What was that?" Rai asked giving her a suspicious yet confused look.

"Oh, I said that out loud?" she asked while mentally cursing herself for letting her words slip. "Never mind! Just act like I didn't say anything."

"Oh no. I heard you clear as day." Rai smirked. "You said you were glad I was awake. I wonder, does this mean that the dragon of fire was concerned, no, worried about me?"

Kim blushed and gave a small smile. "You don't miss much." She said. "But now I'm curious. Does your jumping in the way of the Hitsuji Hammer to protect me mean that a certain Shoku Warrior, well, I think you can figure out the rest."

Rai chuckled. "And what if it does?" he asked. "And just to prove I'm not to chicken to say it; what if it does mean that I have feelings for you?"

Kim was shocked. Sure, she'd suspected that this was true, but she never expected him to just come out and admit it. Then again, this might work to her advantage. He'd just admitted his feelings for her, why not have it work the opposite way as well. Kim quickly constructed a half-witted yet fool proof plan. She slowly got up from her chair and leaned over Rai's bed. She began to run her fingers through the Brazilian boys brunet hair as she supported herself on the bed with her other arm, giving Rai a seductive look the whole time. "It means two things. One) it means that I'll be asking Master Fung if I can stick around here while you're stuck in bed. No reason you have to be the only one cooped up in here after all. And two)…" She paused for a moment to take in the mood. She could tell the Rai was already pleased with her answer. He'd most likely be ecstatic, no, overjoyed at what was coming next. She moved swiftly as she leaned in to give Rai a quick kiss on the lips. "It means that Raimundo Pedrosa has got himself a girlfriend."

Now Raimundo was confused; happy, there was no doubt about that, but confused. Kimiko Tohomiko, one of his best friends for near a year now, had just kissed him and called herself his girlfriend. "Well, this worked out nicely." He finally said after a few seconds of glancing between Kim and empty space. "So, should we keep this our little secret or got public with it?"

"You're secret's safe with us." They looked to the curtain door to find Clay and Saya standing in the doorway. Clay had that look on his face that said, "I told you so." Saya was thinking the same thing, but was doing a much better job of hiding it.

"How long've you two been standing there?" Rai asked.

"Long enough, I reckon." Clay answered.

"Where's Omi?" Kim asked. She knew all to well that the ignorant little monk wouldn't understand what was going on and she dreaded having anyone explain to him. She was relieved when Saya said that he was sleeping. "What about Dojo?"

"He's fixin' himself a sandwich in the kitchen." Clay explained.

"And Master Fung?" Rai asked timidly.

"He's with the other monks in the meditation hall, not like he'd care though. Heck, he'd probably smile at there being a bit more love in the world, knowing him." Saya explained.

"One more thing. Didn't anyone tell you not to eavesdrop?" Kim asked angrily.

"It's not eavesdropping. It's more like just being curious." Saya said with a little sarcasm, "And besides, you'd have to tell someone eventually, and better us than Master Fung, am I right?" Kim and Rai both reluctantly nodded in agreement. "Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed."

"Yeah, I think I'll hit the hay too. Most of us have a big day of trainin' and choirs to do tomorrow, after all. But wait, not you two… what's the word I'm looking fer?"

"Love birds?" Saya joked.

"Yeah, that's it!" Clay finished before heading off to his room.

Saya took another second or two before heading off to her own room, giggling at her own thoughts that would most likely have gotten her killed had she been saying them aloud. "You two play nice." She said before leaving the sight of new couple.

JACK'S LAIR

"Now let's see here, what does my collection consist of now?" Jack asked himself as he went over his small collection of Shen Gong Wu, including the one he'd just retrieved. "The Serpents Tail, the Silk Spitter, the Canine Crossbow, the Yajuu Card, that useless Sleeping Boar, the Combo-Sickle, the Mariachi Sombrero, the Sweet Baby Among Us, The Hoduku Mouse," the small mouse-like Shen Gong Wu in his hand. Just as Wuya had said, it had survived its fall into the lava, and with the help of the Serpents Tail, Jack had retrieved it easily. "Then there's the Third Arm Sash-."

"Wait, what was that?" Wuya broke in.

"The Third arm Sash."

"I don't remember you winning that one back from the Xiaolin Monks." Wuya said, eyeing the long sapphire blue sash carefully. "How could it have gotten here?"

"Who cares?" Jack asked ignorantly. "It's just one more for my collection."

A chorus of soft sounds suddenly filled the room, they sounded almost like the cawing of a crow. It filled the whole room, but there wasn't a bird in sight, unless you count a few unfinished bird looking robots on the shelves. It was everywhere: the stairs that led to the ground level of the house; the shelves upon shelves of unfinished robots; the launching bay for Jack's jet/submarine; and so on in that fashion.

"Ok, this is staring to give me a headache." Jack mumbled. "Jack-bots, find whatever's making that noise and get rid of it!"

Three motionless Jack-bots suddenly sprang to life. They began to fly about the basement, searching through it, moving and turning over random objects but not doing enough to consider it a mess. The cawing became louder and more consistent as time moved on. "Jack-bots, find the source of that annoying cawing or it's the scrap heap!" Jack bellowed, trying to block out the noise with his hands.

"Sir, sensors indicate that nothing within this vicinity is capable of creating this sound." One of the Jack-bots announced as it hovered if front of its creator.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that." Wuya exclaimed. She flew throughout the rafters until she spotted what she was looking for. It was a medium sized black and gray bird with red feathers flaring out of the back of its head. "Ah ha! Here's your noise. It's the Ying-Yang bird!"

"The Ying-Yang bird?" Jack said, his mouth open slightly and one eyebrow cocked. "But what's Hannibal's flunky doing here?"

His question was answered quickly as the Ying-Yang Bird fluttered down from its perch and landed next to the Shen Gong Wu on the table. Its eyes suddenly flashed a faint blue and a beam of light of the same color shot from its eyes, creating a hologram of Hannibal Beam. It began to speak. "Hello Jack, how are you? I bet you're wondering why I've sent my little pet to your place. Well, I'm too lazy to come in person, so I sent you this message as an offer of friendship. And don't think I'm a fool; I've brought a small token as well. Yingy, give the man his payment." The Ying-Yang Bird spread its wings as far as it possibly could. Both Jack and Wuya were awestruck by what happened next: a treasure trove of Shen Gong Wu that had supposedly been in possession of the Xiaolin Monks appeared on the table. The Ju-ju Flytrap, the Glove of Jisaku, the Mikado Arms, the Woozy Shooter, the Manchurian Musca, and at least fifteen others, not including the Third Arm Sash. "Jack, I offer these Shen Gong Wu, which I personally had stolen from the Xiaolin Temple, to you as a token of friendship. Don't be a fool though, I will be expecting a small favor in return. You take care now." The Hannibal hologram vanished back into the birds eyes and it flew out a window.

Jack eyed this treasure trove in awe. There had to be at least twenty Wu there. Jack could only allow a single word to pass his lips. "Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn!"

THE TEMPLE

It had been three days since the use of the healing Shen Gong Wu and everything was going great. Not one Shen Gong Wu had gone active, giving the young monks a well deserved vacation; Raimundo was getting better more quickly than even Dojo had imagined; Omi at least was completely oblivious to what was going on between Rai and Kim, Dojo seemed a bit suspicious however, and if Master Fung had any guesses, he was keeping them to himself. All and all, things were pretty sweet.

Right now, everyone was free to do whatever. Kim was still hanging out with Rai, who'd amazingly been able to get to his feet and stagger the short distance to the bathroom already. Omi couldn't help but notice that the two of them seemed to be spending a lot more time together lately, but thought nothing of it. Clay and Dojo were playing poker in the kitchen, no interesting details included. Omi was resting on top of the temple roof. The temple just didn't seem the same without Raimundo constantly lying down on the orange and red tiles, so Omi had taken it upon himself to do it for him. And as for Saya, well, no one was really sure. She'd just up and vanished after breakfast that morning and no one had seen her since. But it had only been a few hours and Master Fung had assured them that she was just running errands in town.

This part of the story takes place on the roof with Omi. He lay there quietly, watching the clouds slowly roll by, relaxing, and letting his thoughts run wild. He now understood why Raimundo found this so pleasurable. It was the perfect way to escape the pressures of chores, among other things. One could almost fall asleep there. Heck, Omi would've, were it not for what was about to happen.

"Is the young Monk enjoying himself?" came an eerie voice from not far off.

"Oh yes." Omi yawned, not even bothering to open his eyes and see who it was. "This is most relaxing."

"Is that so?" said the voice. "Well, I wonder how relaxing it would be if you didn't have any arms?"

Acting solely out of instinct, Omi leapt to the side as this mysterious person came shooting at him with an indescribable martial arts move. Omi recognized the man immediately: that mane of jet black hair; a black leather body suit covered by tight fitting bronze body armor; that irritating smirk; and those deep yellow dragon eyes. It was Chase Young. But something was wrong, it wasn't like Chase to just show up out of nowhere and attack.

"Chase! What are you doing at the Xiaolin temple?" Omi demanded.

Chase continued to smirk as he brushed a few roof shingle shards off of his arms. "Me, why, I've come to watch the festivities. It's not every day that you dual against one of my warriors for the Xiaolin Temple, after all, Omi."

"Um, could you repeat that?"

"Are you daft boy? You have been challenged by one of my minions for control over the Xiaolin Temple!"


	6. Chapter 6: Dual for the Temple

Chapter 6: Dual for the Temple

Chase and Omi circled each other slowly atop the temple roof, each waiting for the other to attack. Questions were racing through Omi's head: why was Chase here; what did he want with the temple; why wasn't he going to fight rather than his one of his jungle cat flunkies; and where the heck was this other guy anyway? All these and more would remain unanswered. There was something eerie about Chase as well. There was something weird about him, something different than the thing that sent chills up Omi's spine every time he saw the dragon eyed warrior. Chase seemed, well, happy. Almost like he was enjoying his evil deeds rather than facing them emotionlessly like usual.

Omi was ready to fight; his fighting stance was flawless and his thoughts were focused. "What makes you think I'd accept such a challenge? Why would I risk losing my one and only home?" he asked.

"Two reasons." Chase answered. "One) should you refuse my challenge, you will automatically lose, handing the temple over to me without a fight. This really pursued you enough, I would think. But no, I needed an extra measure. That's why I though of reason two)" Chase snapped his fingers quickly. A tiger suddenly jumped onto the roof. It was holding a person in its jaws by the back of their shirt, and it wasn't just any person. It was Saya. "I'm sure that you wouldn't want your only living family to meet an unfortunate end. You see, I've been thinking of giving my pets a snack."

Omi was enraged at the sight of his sister hanging loosely from the tiger's jaws. There was no way that he was going to let her become cat food! "You… you… what's that word that Raimundo is always calling you again? Oh yes. You bastard! You threaten Saya's life just so that I will fight!? You will regret the day you even met me!"

Chases smirk grew slightly. Soon he began to chuckle, and that quickly turned into a full blown evil laugh. "Very well then, mighty Dragon of the Water! Make me regret it!" He dismissed his fighting stance and stood up straight, stretching out his arms to give Omi a bigger target.

Omi launched himself into the air, soaring towards Chase that it seemed like he was using the fancy feet or something. Chase stood there waiting for the monk to strike, holding his cocky expression all the while. It seemed like Omi was actually going to strike, but someone jumped into his way and blocked him with a long wooden staff at the last second. It was the cloaked man with the Hitsuji hammer. But if this man had used the hammer on Rai and had such great results the least time, why was he blocking Omi with the Monkey Staff.

Both the cloaked man and Omi were had their hands wrapped tightly around the Monkey Staff. They both knew what was coming as the Shen Gong Wu began to glow. "Well, this will be even better than I expected. A Xiaolin Showdown wagering a Shen Gong Wu each and something for personal gain or loss." Chase said in an intrigued tone, "My minion wagers his Hitsuji Hammer against…" he paused, waiting for Omi to name a Shen Gong Wu.

"I… don't have anything to wager with me right now." Omi admitted.

"Well, we can't have a Xiaolin Showdown with only one Wu." Chase chuckled. "I guess I'll have to lone you one for the time." Chase reached behind his back and tossed something to Omi. It was a gauntlet made of sapphire with. It was hallow from end to end with no hand like part on ether side, thus giving the user free use of their hand and the powers of the Wu. It was long enough to reach from a Omi's wrist to his forearm. Omi caught the gauntlet in his left hand and slid it over his right, clamping it down to make sure it wouldn't fall off of his arm. "It's called the Sapphire Gauntlet. You can find out what it does for yourself."

"Very well." Omi said, still glaring at his opponent. "What is your challenge?"

"The game is a challenge of balance. The first one to fall off of the roof loses."

"Let's go, Xiaolin Showdown!"

The Monkey Staff emitted a blinding glow as the arena was set of the Showdown. The roof of the temple shot into the sky with Omi, Chase, and the cloaked man still on it. The temple below them shattered into countless pieces and rose into the air after them bits and pieces hanging in midair around the roof. One mass of broken wood and tables hovered not far off with Master Fung, Kimiko, and Clay standing on it and Raimundo lying down next to Dojo (who was still holding a hand of cards); all five seemed extremely confused until they saw Omi and the cloaked man both holding onto the Monkey Staff. But their confusion only returned when they saw Chase standing on the roofs edge with an unconscious Saya lying beside him.

The Monkey Staff vanished as Omi shouted "Gong Yi Tanpai!" and the showdown began. The young monk leapt back, watching his opponent carefully as the cloaked man began to zigzag over the roof, making so many random turns that it was impossible for the spectators, except for Chase and Master Fung, to keep eye contact. Making another sudden turn, he shot directly at Omi. The Hitsuji hammer in hand and ready to shatter the monks skull. Grabbing the gauntlet on his left arm with his right hand, Omi called out its name. "Sapphire Gauntlet!" the gauntlet glowed faintly at a barely visible shield of light appeared in front of Omi, blocking the Hitsuji Hammer with a thundering bang.

One the sidelines, the other young monks were watching in awe. Omi had taken a serious risk in using a Shen Gong Wu that none of them had even seen before. It was lucky for him, as Dojo put it, that the Sapphire Gauntlet was a force-field Shen Gong Wu.

"OK, I sorta get why they're fightin'." Clay said. "But why in the great state of Texas is Chase here? And why is Saya lying next to him?"

"I am not sure, Clay." Answered Master Fung. "But I am sure that Omi will give us the full story when this is over."

"You mean if he survives this showdown." Raimundo broke in. "Omi may have a force-field, but one wrong move and the hammer is gunna be all over him. And that thing is leathel, trust me." There was another bang from the hammer hitting the gauntlets shield.

Omi jumped out of the way as the cloaked man slammed the Hitsuji hammer onto the roof, sending roof shingles flying everywhere. Omi landed silently and reactivated the gauntlet. The shield of lit appeared before him as he charged, ramming the shield into the cloaked mans side and sending him flying towards the roofs edge. He landed on his back, skidding a few feet and stopping inches before falling off the side. He got back to his feet quickly started zigzagging again.

Chase watched his warrior face off against Omi with the utmost delight. The young monk was doing quite well for having never used the Sapphire Gauntlet before. But who could blame him? Omi was obviously determined to rescue his sister and wasn't going to make a single flaw if it was her on the line. And the fact that the only home he'd ever known was on the line as well could only add to that. Chase chuckled. _Foolish boy. Doesn't even realize what he's fighting for._ He thought.

Omi stood ready as the cloaked man zigzagged his way over the roof. The cloaked man made a sudden turn and shot straight at him with the Hitsuji Hammer clenched tightly in has hand. He swung the hammer at the big headed monk, giving Omi just enough time to shout, "Sapphire Gauntlet, ice!" a shield of ice, at least a foot thick, materialized in from of him only to have it shattered by the oncoming hammer. Omi's plan had worked perfectly. The delay in the cloaked mans attack had given him just enough time to strike. "Tsunami Strike, water!" he jumped into the air, coming eye to eye with the cloaked man. In one swift movement, he clinched his hand into a fist and slammed it right into the his opponents shadow covered face sending him flying over the roof, passed Chase, and falling into the bottomless sky below.

There was another golden flash as the Temple reconstructed itself and everything went back to normal. Master Fung, Clay were now standing the yard, Dojo was sitting on Clay's hat, Raimundo was lying in the grass doing his best to look up at what was happening with Kimiko kneeling over him doing the same. Omi and Chase still stood on the roof, staring each other down like an old western movie. The cloaked man was nowhere to be seen.

Omi glared at Chase with pure rage as he detached the gauntlet from his arm and tossed it aside. The Monkey Staff and Hitsuji Hammer appeared at his feet right after. "I have won your challenge, Chase Young. Now hand over Saya and leave!"

"As you wish Omi. Your sister will be returned to you, as promised and the temple is yours to keep. I expected nothing less from you." Those were Chase's last words before he kicked Saya's unconscious body over the side of the roof, into an ally between two of the buildings, and disappeared without a trace.

LATER

After bringing Saya into the temple, making sure she was ok, and waiting fro her to wake up, Omi had to tell the whole story to them all. Master Fung seemed pretty agitated when he found out that Omi had bet the temple in the showdown, but Omi swore that it was ether that or let Saya become cat food. Everything seemed ok; Saya was fine, they were adding three Shen Gong Wu to the vault, Chase's plans had failed miserably (they hoped), and…

"Someone's broken into the vault!" Clay shouted as he ran into the bed chamber where the others were. "There's at least twenty Shen Gong Wu missin'!"

"What! Twenty Wu!" Kimiko exclaimed.

"How's that possible?" Rai asked. "Even if Jack has the Serpents Tail, there's no way that he could steal Twenty Wu without us noticing. It's not humanly possible!"

"True." Master Fung broke in. "But it may be that we are not dealing with a human. Or, it is quite possible that, should Jack have a Shen Gong Wu called the Combo-Sickle, he could've attached the Shen Gong Wu together and flew out with the Serpents Tail." He explained.

"You know, Jack was holding a weird looking scythe last time we saw him." Saya said. "That could be the Combo-Sickle you're talking about."

"It could be. But that is not important right now." Master Fung continued. "What is important is that we have lost Twenty Shen Gong Wu. Clay, could you tell us which ones are missing?"

"Well, I raced out of there about as fast as my daddy can wolf down a thanks-giving turkey dinner so I can't give ya a full list," Clay admitted, "but I couldn't find the Third Arm Sash, Mikado Arms, Woozy Shooter, Ju-Ju Flytrap, or the Manchurian Musca. Other than that, I have no idea."

"Some of Jacks favorites, of course." Omi droned.

"Well, Today has just been going perfectly!" Rai chuckled, using a bit more sarcasm than usual. "Omi almost lost our home in a showdown, we've lost twenty plus Wu, and Chase has some unpredictable plan that will undoubtedly lead to yet another ten thousand years of darkness. But wait! There's a bright side to all this, Omi has actually stopped trying to use slang! It's a Christmas miracle!"

"Shut down, Raimundo!" Omi barked. Everyone started to laugh hysterically, even Master Fung got a chuckle out of this.

"Thanks for ruining the moment, chrome dome." Rai joked.

"And you mean 'shut up' Omi." Saya corrected him.

"If you five are finished making fun of Omi's inability to use slang," Dojo broke in as he slithered into the room with the ancient scroll of the Shen Gong Wu under his arm, "We've got a Shen Gong Wu alert!"

"Greaaaaaaaaaaaat!" Rai groaned. "So which Shen Gong Wu are you guys going after this time? Of course I won't be able to go" he muttered "Stupid Hammer" under his breath so no one could hear him.

"Actually, Raimundo, you've been progressing quite well, according to Kimiko. I believe that, so long as you don't get into a Xiaolin Showdown, you should be able to go with your friends." Master Fung said. Rai glanced over to Kimiko who gave him a quick smile. He nodded, smiling back at her, and wrapped his arm around he shoulders.

"So, what's the Wu already?" Clay asked.

"There are four of them." Dojo announced. "They're the four sister Shen Gong Wu of the Sapphire Gauntlet. You see when Dashi hid these five, he used a certain magic on them that would only le the other four activate once one was used. So, when Omi used the Sapphire Gauntlet in the Showdown, these four went active. There's the Diamond Gauntlet, which is like the sapphire one, only it makes an energy sword instead of a shield; the Ruby Gauntlet, which can basically turn the user into a shooting star, not recommended outside of a showdown; the Emerald Gauntlet, which turns the users arms into long range plasma cannons; and finally there's the Amethyst Gauntlet. The Amethyst Gauntlet is sort of odd. It's not a weapon like the others. How did Dashi put it again, oh yeah! It 'reveals lost truths', so you could probably figure out the world's greatest mysteries or something."

Saya shuttered and bit her lip at the explanation of the Amethyst Gauntlet. "Reveals lost truths." Why did that sound so menacing to her? Why did it seem like if anyone used that Wu, they would find out something terrible about her? But she didn't have anything to hide… did she? There was a blank spot in here memory from about a year ago, but it was as brief as an hour or two. She dismissed her troubled thoughts and went back to her usual, cheerful self as she and the others left to gather the four Gauntlets.


	7. Chapter 7: Five Unreachable Places

Chapter 7: Five Unreachable Places

Dojo and the Monks were soaring over the Natuna Sea. They were looking for an uninhabited island to land on so they could get on with the Wu hunt, though Dojo hadn't told them which of the Gauntlets was there or what island it was on. In fact, he hadn't even said there was a Wu there. What ever they were doing there, two things were certain: 1) it had something to do with the four remaining Gauntlets; and 2) Raimundo was planning to have some fun on the beach later. Dojo finally started to descend to a small island with a dense forest after what seemed like hours.

Rai was the first to jump off of Dojo's back, offering his hand to Kim afterwards and helping her down like a gentleman would. Clay and Saya couldn't help but smirk suspiciously and snicker and the sight, and as far as they could tell, Omi was starting to get ever so suspicious too.

"Ok guys, gather 'round." Dojo said as he shrank down to his normal size. "Clay, d'you get everything I asked?"

"Sure did, Dojo." Clay said. He'd been holding onto a huge sack of Shen Gong Wu the whole way there which was not hanging over his shoulder. "I got the scroll, the Silver Manta Ray, the Sapphire Gauntlet, the Golden Tiger Claws, the Ying and Yang Yo-Yo's, the Black Beatle, the Rio Reverso, all of our Wudai Weapons and Elemental Shen Gong Wu, and a few of my own choice. But whaddo we need all fer?"

"Good, you have everything. Now, before I start explaining, Saya, you don't have you're elemental Wu yet so you'll have to be extremely careful, got it?" Saya nodded. "Alright, now let's get started."

"You all remember what I told you about the Gauntlets before, right?" Dojo continued. They all answered in various forms of yes, Raimundo was being sarcastic, saying something about it only being half an hour ago. "Good. But I didn't exactly give you the full story. You see, the Gauntlets weren't just among, they **were the last** Shen Gong Wu that Grand Master Dashi created. He made the Sapphire, Ruby, Emerald, and Diamond Gauntlets in a last ditch effort to defeat Wuya once and for all. but when those four back fired, he created the Amethyst Gauntlet to see what he was doing wrong. However, when he activated all five at the same time, he was give an unbelievable power. If it weren't for those five Wu, and the magic puzzle box of course, Wuya would probably be ruling the world right now. But that's not important. After defeating Wuya and hiding most of the other Shen Gong Wu, Dashi made the decision that no one should have the power of the Gauntlets again. So, he hid each Gauntlet in the only five unreachable places in, and in one case outside of, the world. He obviously gave the Sapphire to Chase for safe keeping, but the other four are going to be much harder to find. Dashi hid the Emerald Gauntlet on, of all places, the moon. I begged his not to do this one, but the Ruby Gauntlet lies just in front of the gates to the Under World. You know, ancient Greece, Hades, dark, depressing, and all that stuff. The Diamond was a bit harder to hide. He had to use the sands of time to go to the seventeen hundreds and hide it in Davy Jones Locker. I still can't believe he made it back." Dojo shuttered at the thought of his old friend making that trip.

"And what about the Amethyst?" Saya broke in.

"We'll worry about that one when the time comes. Right now, you need to focus on getting the other three. Now, Omi, grab the Sapphire Gauntlet, the Orb of Tornami, and your other stuff and stand aside. The rest of you break into two teams."

"Teams?" Omi asked suddenly. "Why? Aren't we going to gather the Gauntlets together? It would make more since seeing as we are going to all these dangerous places." This was one of the rare times where Omi actually made since.

"Maybe so, Omi." Dojo answered. "But we need to gather them as fast as possible without losing a single one. And to do that, we need to split up."

"Ok, I get that part. But why isn't Omi in a team?" Raimundo asked.

"Because he'd the only one with a Gauntlet. These Wu are extremely powerful and dangerous. And since there are five of you, the four without will team up while the one with will go at it alone. Now hurry up. We still need one thing and it could be here any second."

Everyone nodded and followed Dojo's orders obediently. Raimundo paired up with Kimiko, leaving Clay and Saya to go get which ever gauntlet they were assigned. Omi did seem a bit sad about being alone, but successfully hid it from everyone, except of Saya of course. "Don't worry, Omi." She said assuringly. "With any luck, we'll get this done quick and be able to join you in no time."

"Not… likely." Everyone had expected Dojo to say something like that. But this voice didn't sound anything like Dojo. It was more like and old, wheezy voice. Saya was the only one who didn't recognize it at all, and it took a bit for Raimundo, Kimiko, and Clay to realize who it was. But Omi and Dojo knew who it was immediately. Standing at the edge of the tropical forest was a short old man with in Xiaolin robes. He had a long white goatee and inhumanly long eyebrows, but other than that he was completely bald. He carried a wooden walking stick in one hand and a fancy hour glass in the other. It was Omi from eighty years in the future!

"Ah, there you are." Dojo said as he hoped onto Clay's hat. "I was wondering when you'd show up. And I see you brought the Sands of Time, like I asked."

"Of course!" Old Omi broke in. "how else… could I get here?"

"Good point." Dojo agreed.

"The Sands of Time? What do we need those for?" Kimiko asked, she was obviously very confused.

"I'll explain in a minute." Dojo said as Old Omi handed him the Sands of Time.

"Omi, listen carefully, because these instructions could be the difference between life and death. First use the Sands of Time to go back to the seventeen thirties. From there you'll need to find your way to Singapore. Once there make sure you stay clear of a pirate named Sao Feng. From there on out you'll need to be as discreet as possible. You'll need to get on a Pirate Ship called the Hai Peng captained by a certain pirated named Hector Barbossa. That ship will take you straight to Davy Jones Locker. From there it's just a matter of finding the Diamond Gauntlet. Did ya catch all that?" Omi nodded and took the Sands of Time from his older self. He then grabbed the Shimo Staff, the Kaijin Charm, the Orb of Tornami, and the Thorn of Thunderbolts. With all of his Shen Gong Wu safely hidden away and the Sapphire Gauntlet latched tightly around his arm, he called out the name of the Sands of Time and disappeared, over three-hundred years into the past. There was a brief silence before anything continued.

"So," Kimiko said, breaking the silence, "How's Old Omi gunna get back to his time?"

The old man chuckled as he dug into his sleeve and pulled out yet another hour glass. "I brought a second." He chuckled. "You see, since I am returning the Sands of Time to you know, as soon as I made that decision a second appeared in my time." And with that, Omi disappeared for a second time, eighty years into the future and most likely never to return.

"Ok, now that Bald and not so bald are gone, we need to continue." The dragon reached into Clay's bag and pulled out the Silver Manta Ray, The Big Bang Meteorang, the Plasma Scepter, the Long Horn Taurus, the Eye of Dashi, the Fist of Tebigong, and the Golden Tiger Claws. "Clay, Saya, you two are going to the moon. All you have to do is use the Manta Ray and find the Emerald Gauntlet. I'll use the Tiger Claws t transport you. And just in case, there are some special suit in the Manta ray that'll let you breathe in space." The Cowboy and the Blond Girl nodded. Clay threw the Silver Manta Ray into the air and called out its name. The small silver object grew to the size of a jet and landed with a thud. "One more thing," Dojo called as Clay and Saya started to climb in, "You only have enough oxygen for about a day and a half, so if you're no back in twenty-four hours, I'll use the tiger claws to come and get you."

"We'll be fine Dojo." Saya said. "It's just Omi that I'm worried about."

"Yeah, don't worry 'bout us Dojo, we'll be back before you can say kung fu cowboy." Clay managed to joke before the Silver Manta Ray's cockpit was sealed and it started to rise into the air. Dojo slipped the Tiger claws over his own claw and slashed the air, opening a portal just big enough for the Manta Ray to slip through. The Ray disappeared into the portal with a sudden gust of wind, leaving only Dojo, Rai and Kim on the island.

Dojo began to rummage through the bag of Shen Gong Wu. All that was left were Rai and Kim's Wudai Weapons and Elemental Wu, the Ying and Yang Yo-Yo's, the Black Beatle, the Rio Reverso, the Hitsuji Hammer, and the Star Hanabi. "Ok you two, you're going to need all of these Wu if you want to make it back from the Under World alive." The dragon announced. He changed into his flying size and motion for the remaining two monks to get on. "Hop on kids. It'll take us a while to get to Greece."

"Greece?" Kim asked in sudden surprise. "Can't we just use the Tiger Claws to get to the Under World?"

Dojo shook his head as the Brazilian boy and Japanese girl climbed onto his back. "The Tiger Clays may be able to take you anywhere, but it does have its limits. It can't take anyone where man was never meant to go, namely the land of the dead and other holy places. I would say that the moon is off limits, but that theory was discredited after the sixties."

"I guess that makes sense." Raimundo yawned, "I mean, Dashi did want all those phenomenal powers, but he had to set some limits."

The conversation died from there. Dojo took off towards the north-west, trying to keep a solid motion rather than swerving like usual. All that could be heard was the sound of cloths ruffling in the wind and the occasional yawn from the two passengers. Dojo couldn't help but wonder how the others were fairing. He'd only given them a quick briefing. They really had no idea how much danger they were in, especially Omi. "I've really got to start think these things through." The dragon told himself. He'd completely forgotten to tell them about the precautions that Dashi had taken when hiding these Wu. "All well. They can handle it. Never was an obstacle that they couldn't eventually over come."

SOMEWHERE OVER PAKISTAN

Night had fallen. Dojo had already flown half way to Greece in little over a few hours. The constant yawning from Rai and Kim had been replaced be a soft snoring from Rai and the sound of the wind zooming past them.

Dojo took a quick look behind him to make sure that Rai and Kim weren't about to fall off or something. He wasn't surprised at all by what he saw. Kimiko was sitting extremely close to Raimindo, her head was resting on his shoulder and Rai had one arm around her waist. Dojo chuckled to himself. "Man am I gunna regret letting those two team up. Then again, with that kind of relationship there's a better chance of them both coming back unscathed."

Little did the dragon know, as he flew on out of Pakistan and into Iran, a certain someone was watching his every move and listening to his every word on the back of an eerie black and gray bird. "Yes, dragon, you are defiantly going to regret letting those two team up." said that oh so familiar southern accent. "You know Yingy; I think it's time I dropped in on my old pal Hades."

MT. OLYMPUS

It was very early morning. Dojo had just landed at the base of everyone's favorite mountain in Greece, Mt. Olympus. Amazingly both the dragons of fire and wind were still asleep, but Dojo had the perfect solution to that problem. He pulled a small gong and a mallet out of, well, let's just say thin air. Then, giving himself a few seconds to let the moment sink in, he slammed the mallet against the gong, waking both Kim and Rai right away and, regrettably, making them both fall off of his back and onto the ground, both landing flat on their faces.

"OW! What the hell, Dojo? You couldn't have just asked us to wake up or something?" Rai asked as he lifted himself off of the ground. "I've got half a mind to make some Lao-Mang-Lon soup now."

"As appetizing as cream of dragon sound right now," Kimiko broke in, "how about we just pummel him and get back to our job."

"Hey, hey!" Dojo broke in, holding up both claws in and 'I surrender' fashion, "I don't think it's such a good idea to beat up the dragon with all the information!"

The two monks glanced at each other quickly before nodding to Dojo and telling him to continue. "Alright now listen. You two are by far in the most danger. Sure, Omi has to face pirates, avoid gun shot, and maybe even fight for his life at the point of a sword; but you two are going up against ancient curses, guardians of the Under World and, god forbid, possibly Hades himself. First, I'm going to use the Rio Reverso to open the path way, or the only way a physical being can get in or out of there. Then it's up to you two. You'll use the Black Beatle for most of the trip. And, only if absolutely necessary, use the Ying-Yang Yo-Yo to get out of there. If you're in serious mortal danger, just forget about the Ruby Gauntlet and get out of there. The rest of your Wu are to be used for defense. Understood?"

"Yeah, yeah, we get the picture. Life and death situations, could possibly release an eternity long curse on humanity, the usual. It's nothing we haven't dealt with before. I bet we'll be back before Clay and Saya even spot the Emerald Gauntlet."

"Don't get cocky, Rai. This is serious." Kim said. "We can't risk losing a single Gauntlet. It's bad enough that we have to wait to get the Amethyst."

"What? A guy can't make a joke at the expense of a lazy dragon?" Rai joked.

"Shut up you!" Kim giggles, giving Rai a playful punch in the arm.

Dojo cleared his through, getting the complete attention of his two companions. "If you two love birds are quite finished, I'd like to get this done as quickly as possible." He then grabbed the Rio Reverso and pointed it directly at the mountain. He called out the Wu's name just before the earth started to shack. Quickly but steadily, a rock began to sink into the ground, revealing a passageway that lead directly into the mountain and beneath it. And something deep within the tunnels depths emitted an eerie green glow that seemed to illuminate it completely. "One more thing before you leave. You guys are to fight it out for as long as possible if you run into anything. But, under no circumstances what so ever are you to even try to fight Hades. If he shows up just head straight for the Ying-Yang world. Do I make myself clear?"

"As crystal." Rai said before grabbing a few of the Wu and heading for the tunnel.

"Where're you going from here, Dojo?" Kim asked.

"I'm heading back to the Natuna Sea. No matter how long it takes Omi to get the Diamond Gauntlet, he could be back at the same instant he left. Ain't time travel great?" and with that, Dojo grew back to his larger form again and flew off to the south-east. Kimiko watched Dojo disappear into the sky before grabbing the rest of the Wu and going after Raimundo. She had to remind herself to get back at him for that 'Love Birds' comment later.

JACK'S LAIR

"You know, Wuya, I've been thinking." Jack muttered as he stared blankly into space. He was sitting at his desk in his basement with his feet on the desk and his hands behind his head. The room was a dark and depressing as ever and looked relatively the same, except that there were now two Shen Gong Wu cabinets instead of one.

"There's a first." Wuya said, hovering over Jack's shoulder.

"Not funny." Jack said casually. "Anyway, I've been thinking that I'm not evil enough. I mean, looking back at when I accidentally separated my good and bad sides, I'm practically one of the Xiaolin Losers. What I need to do is find a way to make myself even more evil than just my evil side by itself."

Wuya just hovered there for a moments, staring at him wide eyed. Then she started laughing hysterically, literally rolling over in the air. "HA, HA! That's a good one Jack! But seriously, we need to get going. The longer we stay here the more likely it is that the Xiaolin monks get the Gauntlets. And if we lose even one of them my plans are ruined!"

"Yeah, yeah, don't get your tail in a knot. We'll go when I feel like it. Where'd you say they were again?" Jack yawned.

"They lie in the most dangerous places known to man kind, some of which have never been visited by a mortal. The gates to the Under World, the moons surface, Davy Jones Locker, one was in the possession of Chase young, and… oh hell, where did Dashi hide the other one again? It seems like I should know this one."

"Wait, they're **WHERE**? I don't have the technology or Wu I need to get to the moon in the first place! How do you expect to get to all those other places? I may be evil, but I have no plans to go on vacation in hell! And I'm talking about the Under World and Davy Jones Locker there. I mean geeze, what do you think I am, crazy?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

"Point taken. Now, if you really need these Gauntlet Shen Gong Wu, you'll just have to wait until I can put my plan into action." Jack said casually.

"And that would be when?" Wuya asked in an annoyed tone.

"As soon as I can get the Ring of the Nine Dragons, one or both of the Ying-Yang Yo-Yo's, and find some gullibly person that's more evil than me. And the Reversing Mirror might come in handy too." Jack then got up from his seat and walked over to one of his Shen Gong Wu cabinets, pulling the Combo-Sickle out. He stared at his own reflection in the blade. "This could quite possibly be my best idea yet."

--------

ok, I'm going to have to point out a few things before I update again. first off, the next three, possibly four, chapters will be taking place at the exact same time.Omi's adventures in the past, Clay and Saya's trip to the moon, and Rai and Kims travels in the under world are all happening simultainiously. second off, yes, Omi's trip to the past will exactly follow the story to Pirates of the Caribbean 3 but that's only because I couldn't think of any other way to get to Davy Jones locker without dieing at sea, and trust me, I gave it some thought. and finally, feel free to tell me what you think the villains are up too.


	8. Authors Note

Hey guys, sorry that I haven't updated this story recently.

Along with not being home a lot lately (what with it being family reunion season and the 4th of July) and having a new story idea, I got about half way through the next chapter before realizing that it was going nowhere fast so I had to start over. And then of all times I get a major case of writers block!

The good news is, with my other story out of the way for now I can devote whatever time I have to this story for a while. I'm about half way done already. But I'm going to warn you in advance that the next chapter will be a bit shorter than most of the ones so far.

So just wait patiently for a week or maybe two and I'll have the next chapter up, promise


	9. Chapter 8: The Moon

Chapter 8: The Moon

It was quiet. Complete and utter silence. It was the kind of silence that just made you want to rip your hair out, and the scenery didn't help mush either. There was nothing but gray rocks, cliffs, craters, and dirt for miles and miles. The sky wasn't that bad though. Cloudless, black as coal, filled with stars, any level headed person could lose themselves after staring at that sky for a few minutes. There was one thing, however, that stood out beyond belief in this waste land. It was a humongous orb in the sky covered in swirls of blue and white and a few patches of green and brown here and there.

What could possibly disturb this peaceful yet irritating scene? Nothing short of invisible claw ripping through nothing, opening a portal of which a giant silver Manta Ray came flying out of.

Clay glanced around from the inside of the Silver Manta Ray. "Moon looks a lot better from earth, way I see it." He said.

"I have to agree with you there." Saya agreed as she took hold of the Manta's controls. She took a quick look around before the Manta started to slowly petrol the moons surface. "So, we're supposed to find a single green gauntlet small enough to fit comfortably around someone's arm in all of this? We're gunna be here a while."

"I reckon we're lucky that Dojo didn't hide the Diamond Gauntlet here. It'd be kinda hard to find clear among gray." Clay pointed out.

"Good point."

They were both silent for a while, looking out the windows and checking the Manta Ray's monitors for any sign of the Emerald Gauntlet. It wasn't until about a quarter hour that something dawned on Saya. "Hey, did Dojo say anything about the Wu being guarded? You'd think that he and Dashi would take at least a few precautions, seeing how important these Wu are." She explained.

"Dashi mighta thought that way, but Dojo's too thick headed to think like that. He's probably the one who thought that Man could never reach the moon in the first place." Clay answered.

"So what you're saying is: yeah, there's probably something guarding the Gauntlet."

"Ya hit the nail on the head." Clay responded before turning his attention to the Monitor between them. "Hold on, I think I found somethin'!" He blurted out.

Saya immediately let go of the Ray's controls, bringing it to an abrupt hault, and looked to where Clay was pointing on the monitor. He'd defiantly found something that wasn't natural, but it wasn't the Emerald Gauntlet. "Is that… a cave?" she asked, more than confused. Clay answered with a simple, and also confused, nod. "On the Moon?" again, Clay nodded. They looked at each other, both with annoyed looks on their faces and both thinking the same thing: _Why not just put a giant, neon sign over it that says "It's right here, morons!"_

"How deep do you think it goes?" Saya asked.

"Hold on I think I can get an exact answer to that." Clay said before stating to mess with the Manta Ray's many buttons and knobs. Within a few seconds, the monitor turned black. The only image was a green circle with a jagged line running down to its center where it formed into another, much smaller circle. "Looks like it runs all the way to the moons core."

"How'd you do that?" Saya asked in astonishment.

"It's a radar. My cousin's in the U.S. air force and he showed me how to work this kinda stuff. It's not all that complicated really." Clay explained.

"Do you think you could show me how to work this thing some time?" Saya asked as she took hold of the controls again and had the Manta Ray make its way into the cave. "I can hardly figure out how to get it to fly."

Clay's face turned a light shade of pink. That wasn't exactly what he'd expected to hear, especially on a serious Shen Gong Wu hunt. "Uh, sure. I… I'd be glad to, little lady." He stuttered.

Saya, noticing the look on Clay's face and how he was stuttering, smiled weakly. _Does he think I'm asking him on a date or something?_ She mentally asked herself. Then something crossed her mind; **was** she asking him out? She did enjoy spending time with him and, admittedly, a bit happier than she expected when they were paired up. And then there was that "thank you" she gave him the other day. She giggled quietly as thoughts of the Texan and herself started to fill her head. _Maybe I'll give it a shot when we get back to Earth._

Saya's thoughts quickly turned back to the Shen Gong Wu hunt when the Silver Manta Ray landed at the in the moons inner chamber. Clay pushed a button and a small compartment, almost like a glove box on a normal car, opened up. Inside were two black and silver objects and a scrape of paper. The paper read "Press suit against chest to activate". Shrugging, Clay took one of the objects and placed it against his chest. The next thing he knew, his entire body was covered in form fitting, black and silver space suit with a glass visor over his face. Saya did the same with the second one.

After a little difficulty getting the oxygen tanks hooked up, the opened the Manta's cockpit and climbed out. It was easy enough to find the Emerald Gauntlet in the cave, seeing as it was the only green and sparkling rock among dull and gray ones. It almost seemed too easy, the Wu being on the other side of the chamber, completely unguarded.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Saya asked.

"I'm thinking this is gunna be 'bout as easy as plowing a field with a tooth brush." Clay said. Saya couldn't help but laugh. "So, let's see what we're up against." Clay reached into his pocket and pulled out the Big Bang Meteorang. He called out its name and threw it towards the Gauntlet.

Stone and rubble erupted from the rock walls of the chamber, forming into a giant stone sentry, much like the ones Wuya used when she ruled the world. It reached out with one of its great hand. The Big Bang Meteorang crashed into the sentry's hand coming to a complete halt on contact with a thundering bang before, thanks to the moons lack of gravity, slowly falling to the chamber floor below. The stone sentry roared, shaking the cavern, before merging the cavern wall once again.

Clay and Saya just stared at the spot where the sentry had merged with the cavern with dumbfounded expressions. Clay's jaw would've been on the ground had it not been for the space suit. How the hell were they supposed to get passed a gigantic stone monster that shot out of the walls if anything even got near the Shen Gong Wu?

"Well, that's about as frustrating as the power going out in the middle of the Super Bowl." Clay finally said after what seemed like an eternity of silence.

"Wha-what in heavens name was that?" Saya stuttered.

"A giant rock monster that came shooting out of the wall and blocked the force of a Wudai Weapon without so much as a scratch, nothing unusual." Clay answered.

"And we're supposed to get past it how?"

"Ya got me there."

"Ya know, you'd think that Dojo would've mentioned something like this."

"As many time's as that dragon's been hit on the head, I reckon he's lucky to have any memories left."

Saya giggled. "True." She agreed. "Seriously though, how're we gonna get past that thing? It's gotta be at least twice as tall the oversized version of Dojo."

"Size is a huge factor in this." Clay agreed. "I would say that we need to split up, but as big as it is it could easily reach from one side of the chamber to the other. I rockon we'd need a third party for this to work. But unfortunately, the only possible solution to that that we have is the Meteorang, and that's out of the question." He crossed his arms, trying to think of anything else they could do. "What other Wu do we have?'

"Other than the Manta Ray, the Wudai Weapons, and the Long Horn Tauros, we just have the Fist of Tebigong and the Eye of Dashi. Not much to work with, if you ask me."

"I knew I should've grabbed the Ring of the Nine Dragons." Clay groaned.

Saya began to stare into space (no pun intended) with an annoyed look on her face. "So whaddo you suggest we do then? We've got virtually nothing here. No useful Wu, not bright ideas, nothing to help pass the time until Dojo comes to get us or we dies from lack of oxygen, nothing!"

"Yep. In the words of one of my favorite cartoon characters: we're boned."

"Yeah, way to keep up with the T rating, Clay. But that doesn't-." Saya began.

The next thing that either of them knew, stone was once again erupting from the walls and slowly forming into the stone giant again. This time the two young monks could get a good look at it. It looked a lot like the stone minions that Wuya used when she took over the world, but it's eyes and mouth glowed with a golden light rather than green; its body seemed to be made of volcanic rock rather than plain gray stone; and there was a strange, Chinese looking symbol on its chest that also glowed with a golden light.

The giant just stood where it had formed, supporting itself with its massive knuckles and starring down at Clay and Saya. It eyed them with a questioning yet serious look, as if it was trying to decide if they were a threat or not. It nodded slowly. All that Saya could think was, _I can't believe I'm gonna die here. _While all that a wide eyed Clay could thing was, _Why didn't I wear my brown pant's today?_

The giant began to raise its hand. The Dragons of Earth and Lightning braced themselves, ready to die fighting. But to their surprise, the giant reached behind itself and carefully picked up the Emerald Gauntlet between its thumb and index finger. it tossed the gauntlet up once as it brought its arm back in front of it. Then something that nether Clay or Saya expected happened: it spoke. "Finally!" It boomed. "After fifteen-hundred years someone has managed to find my treasure."

Clays jaw dropped to the ground and Sayas' eyes bulged out of her head. "Oh! Forgive me!" the giant continued. "I've gone and forgotten my manners. My name is Goliaths' Golem, but just call my Goliath if you will." The young monks remained silent, so Goliath continued. "Now tell me, you youngsters wouldn't happen to be Xiaolin Dragons, would you?"

Saya was the first to break out of her trance, shaking her head quickly before answering. "Ye…yeah. We're from the Xiaolin Temple." She stuttered.

"Ah, just as I suspected. Now, I couldn't help but over hear your conversation. And I have a very simple solution if I do say so myself." Clay and Saya simply nodded. "Why not just challenge me to a Xiaolin Showdown?"

"Say what?" Clay asked, finally breaking his own silence.

"I was told by Grand Master Dashi all those years ago that if anyone from the Xiaolin Temple should arrive in search of the Gauntlet, all they would have to do was defeat me in a Xiaolin Showdown in order to claim their prize." The giant reached forward, placing the gauntlet right in front of the two dragons, so that they would be able to reach it quickly.

"But, you don't have and Shen Gong Wu!" Saya protested.

"That doesn't matter." Goliath argued. "One does not need Wu if one is Wu! I am Goliath's Golem: master of rock and earth and speaker of every language known to man… along with several known to monkeys." Clay cracked a suspicious smile and clenched a fist before placing his other hand on the Gauntlet. Goliath chuckled quietly before touching his enormous index finger on the Gauntlet's side. "And what might your name be, young man?"

"I'd be Clay, sir. And I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown!"

"Hey, what about me?" Saya demanded.

"Earth is my element, remember? I've got a total advantage over this guy." Clay whispered to her. "Plus, electricity doesn't do much against rock. Didn't you pay attention in science class?"

"Don't you recall me saying I lived in the Temple for the first eight years of my life?" she whispered back.

"Can we get on with this?" Goliath broke in. "I've spent the last fifteen hundred years on this rock and should I lose this showdown, I don't plan to spend another minute here."

"Alright, alright, hold yer horses! Goliath, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown! My Fist of Tebigong against yourself!"

"The game is Escape. The first one to break through the closed walls of the inner chamber and escape to the moons surface wins."

"Let's Go, Xiaolin Showdown!"

Light exploded from the green stone that Clay and Goliath both had their hands on. When the light vanished, there wasn't much of a change in scenery other than the tunnel that lead to the surface had vanished. Clay and Goliath glared at each other, both eager to get started. Clay cracked his knuckles before his hand vanished under the Fist of Tebigong. Goliath smirked mischievously as his right hand shattered into an uncountable number of stones before reforming into a mallet. "Gong Yi Tanpai!"

Goliath was the first to move. He lifted his arm and slammed the mallet at the end against the wall, sending thousands of rock shards everywhere and creating a massive crater in the wall. Clay followed his example. "Fist of Tebigong, Earth!" he shouted before slamming the Shen Gong Wu against the chamber wall. Both of them repeated this motion for a while, but it wasn't long before Clay realized that he'd be exhausted long before he got to the surface if he kept this up, even if he and Goliath were keeping an even pace. It took him a few seconds, but he finally thought of something. "Seismic Kick, Earth!" he shouted. He slammed his foot in the center of what was so far his tunnel. The wall in front of him literally went sliding straight forward, creating at least ten yards of distance between it and Clay. "Well alright! Now we're getting' somewhere!"

Goliath scowled as he watched Clay disappear into the rock wall. "Time to kick it up a notch." He mumbled to himself. His mallet reformed into a fist. He slammed his hands together. They shattered and reformed into a gigantic drill. He pressed the tip of the drill against the wall and it began to spin, slowly at first, but quickly picking up speed.

Saya watched with her arms crossed and a sly smile. Clay was keeping up quite well, considering that his opponent was at least ten times bigger than himself. She had to say, she was quite impressed. _Keep it up, cowboy,_ she thought, _Keep it up._

Both Clay and Goliath had vanished from sight. Both too deep within their own tunnel to be seen. But the sounds of Goliaths drill were still ringing throughout the chamber and Clay could occasionally be heard slamming the Fist of Tebigong or his foot against the wall. Saya could feel the tension building. She hated not being able to see what was going on. She noticed a few clouds of dust rising out of Clays' tunnel and she could hear the sound of crumbling rock rather than crushing rock.

Another blinding flash of light absorbed everything and before she knew it, Saya was on the moons surface standing next to the Silver Manta Ray and Clay who was holding the Fist of Tebigong, the Emerald Gauntlet, and a small stone statue of a man which was obviously Goliaths' Golem. "Alright Clay!" Saya shouted in excitement. "You sure showed him who's boss!" she threw her arms around his neck, causing him to drop all of the Shen Gong Wu, and pecked him on the cheek.

"Ah shucks. It wasn't that big of a deal." Clay said modestly. "Earth is my element after all."

"Well, regardless of that fact, you did great." Saya chuckled. "Now c'mon. Let's head home. I feel like getting a taste of some oxygen without having this fricken helmet on."

"I hear that!"


	10. Chapter 9: Road to the Underworld

Chapter 9: Road to the Underworld

"I'm gunna have nightmares about this place for weeks!" Kimiko groaned. She and Raimundo were riding the Black Beatle (sitting rather close together I might add) through a river underneath the mountain. But the term "river" was a definite understatement. The water was an eerie green color and it looked like there were, well, ghostly faces lingering just beneath the surface. But it wasn't just the look of the water that made it unearthly. Kimiko had made the mistake of letting her hand drag through the water for a few seconds at the beginning of their journey only to find that it left her skin with a strange burning sensation. When she removed her hand from the water, after only seconds of letting it drag through, it looked like it belonged to an eighty year-old woman, though it quickly regenerated. It wasn't just that water that would give her nightmares either, the walls and ceiling were made of an unrecognizable pitch black stone. Rotting corpses and (literally) miserable looking souls hung from the stalactites on the ceiling. "How can you not get goose-bumps in this place Rai?"

Rai shrugged. "I guess it's because I've seen every horror movie made in Brazil. Then again," He snuggled a bit closer to Kimiko and moved his arm from her shoulder to her waist. "Maybe it's because I've got other things on my mind." He said in a mischievous tone.

Kimiko elbowed him in the ribs before muttering "Pervert."

Rai rubbed his ribs with his free hand. "You make to many assumptions, girl." He chuckled. "I meant that once this is all done and over maybe I could convince Dojo to fly us into town for a movie or something."

Kim gave him a suspicious look. But after seeing the innocent (yet annoyed) look on Rai's face, she gave him a reassuring smile and nodded. This had happened often since the two had started dating: Rai makes smart-ass comment; Kim accuses him of being a pervert or something like that; Rai either comes up with a quick cover-up, takes Kim's punishment like a man, or Rai actually meant what he said after getting punched, slapped, elbowed, etc.; then life would continues as normal. It seemed rather amusing to Clay, Saya, and Dojo… and Jack on a few occasions.

In the darkness at the end of the tunnel, a low growling could be heard. It sort of sounded like a dog, but whatever this was, it was far too big and there seemed to be more than one. Rai grabbed the Sword of the Storms with his free hand and Kim did the same with the Star Hanabi.

After some time, with no sound but that of the water, the moaning of the diseased around them, and the low growling from the still hidden monster, the Black Beatle beached itself on the end of the green river. The sand was black as the night sky and felt more like crushed ice. The two monks stepped onto the beach, pausing briefly to take in the eerie scenery.

Then, just as suddenly as the silence had begun, it was broken. "Memory Charm Bracelet!" shouted a voice deep and frightening enough that it sent a chill up the spine of anyone who heard it.

Kimiko's pupils narrowed to the point to where they were barely visible. She glanced around, as if trying to figure out where she was. Then her gaze was set on Raimundo. A look of pure rage came across her face as she held the Star Hanabi in front of her, ready to throw it. "Raimundo! What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded.

"What're you talking about Kim? We came here to find the Ruby Gauntlet, remember?" Rai asked confused. Then he realized what was happening. "Oh no..,"

"Right, like I'm gunna believe that you back stabbing son of a bitch!" Kim growled. "You left us to join Hannibal Bean back at Master Monk Guan's temple! Ever since you've left nothing but death and destruction in your wake! Clay, Master Fung, Guan, Even Jack and Chase are dead! Dojo and Omi are nowhere to be found! Wuya even teamed up with me just to stop you two… and now she's dead too!"

Rai knew there was no point in reasoning with her. As long as the Memory Charm Bracelet had a hold of her, she wouldn't believe anything he told her. He swung around. "All right, who ever's got the Bracelet, c'mon out now!" he demanded.

"Don't turn your back on me, Raimundo Pedrosa! Star Hanabi!" Kimiko swiped the star through the air, sending a trail or fire heading for Rai. Acting only on instinct, Rai swiped the sword of the storms through the air, extinguishing the flames and sending Kim hurtling towards the wall.

Rai couldn't stand to watch Kim slam against the rocky wall. It pained him to have to do that to her, but what else was he supposed to do? Kimiko clutched her side as she staggered back to her feet. Her shirt was turning black from the blood pouring out of a gash under her hand. "I can't believe I ever even thought I loved you." She muttered before using her other arm to reach into her purse. "Arrow Sparrow!" Rai dived out of the way as four tiny fire balls went souring at him.

The sound of clapping filled the cave as a towering figure stepped out of the darkness. Kimiko turned her head, her face now red with anger, to see who or what it was. Rai did the same after spitting out a mouthful of black sand. The clapping figure was a man (or something close to it). He wore a black toga that reached from his ankles to his shoulders and a red sash around his waist. There was a golden medallion on the cloth over his chest with a strange and indescribable symbol on it. His skin looked pale, almost white. He had a thin mustache and goatee that was the same shade of black as his short, greasy hair. "I must say, quit a show." He called out. His voice was the same as the one from before. "This trinket that Hannibal gave me works like a charm. Quit a mystery, that Bean."

"You!" Rai shouted. "You put Kimiko's mind back the way it was now!"

"And if I refuse?" asked the man. He fumbled with the golden chain of the charm bracelet between his fingers.

Rai charged, both the Sword of the Storms and the Blade of the Nebula in hand. The look on his face said everything that the man needed to hear. When Rai was only steps away, ready to plunge both blades into the mans chest, the man flicked his wrist. Rai went hurtling through the air, vanishing beneath the emerald green water with a thundering splash.

"Foolish mortal! One should know better than to attack the Lord of the Dead."

Rai slowly made his way out of the water. He looked miserable… weak… old. His hair had changed from the chocolaty brunet to pure white; his back was hunched over; and his person in general just looked ancient. This was nowhere near a good enough punishment for what he'd done in Kim's false memories. Rai collapsed onto the black sand, just far enough away so the water couldn't reach him, as his features began to regenerate. He muttered a single word before he passed out. "Hades..."

Pleased with his quick work of the Dragon of Wind, Hades turned his attention to Kimiko. She still held the Star Hanabi close to her chest, ready to throw it like a Shuriken

"I grow bored." Hades spat. "Please, finish off the young man and be gone. There is nothing within my domain for the likes of mortals."

Kimiko glared at him. The Star Hanabi burst into flames in her hand, her eyes seeming to do the same. "As much as I'd like o kill that no good backstabber, something tells me that you're a bigger threat." She announced.

"Stubborn and hot headed, just as Hannibal said." Hades muttered under his breath. "As you wish, mortal." He clapped his hands twice. Two mounds of stone on the ground began to change shape, forming into small, almost human figures. No taller than two feet tall, skin gray as the stone it was born from, so skinny that practically every bone could be seen in the skin, back hunched over, yellow eyes the size of billiard balls, and ears that looked like they belonged to bats. These creatures were what were called gremlins. "Minions, escort Miss Tohomiko and Mr. Pedrosa to the arena. And send Cerberus there as well." Hades began to chuckle coldly. "I imagine that he'll be interested in a snack after his performance in today's entertainment.

The first gremlin slowly waddled over to Raimundo, grabbing his unconscious body by the wrists and dragging him into the dark tunnel with amazing speed. The second lunged at Kimiko, hitting her in the stomach with its bony fist. Kim blacked out as shortly afterwards.

BENEATH UNDERWORLD ARENA

It was dark. The only light in the small dungeon that Kim and Rai sat in came from a small grate in the ceiling that led to the arena above. Through the darkness, Rai was all most certain that he could still see that hellfire look in Kim's eyes.

The two of them had been stripped of their Shen Gong Wu and Wudai Weapons before being thrown into the dungeon and something was preventing them from entering their Orion forms to break out. It could've been one of the curses that Dojo had mentioned. But more likely, Rai thought, it was Kim's lack of trust in him due to her false memories. One of the upsides of being a Shoku Warrior was that Rai could enter his Orion form without the entire team being present. However, one of the others had to be there. But both Rai and the other had to have complete trust, as Master Fung put it. And that just wasn't the case right now, unfortunately.

The screaming and roaring of a crowd of demons and dead people sounded from above as a battle raged on. From the sounds of the two creatures that were battling, they were some kind of demonic lion and snake.

A thundering roar rang through the arena and the dungeon below as the lion belched a jet of flames at the snake. Scales turned to ash as the snake gave on final his before collapsing onto the grate, dead. The dungeon was now pitch-black. The only thing that could be seen were Kimiko's eyes, still filled with fire from rage.

"All right! Let's give a hand to the Chimera's amazing victory over the Basilisk!" shouted the deep voice of Hades. "There will be a short intermission so that the arena can be cleared before our next match starts. We've got a real treat for you all tonight! Straight from Zeus knows where, two **LIVE** human warriors of the Xiaolin Order! A gift from my close friend, Hannibal Roy Bean!"

"Now, now, Hades. No need to thank me. I was just dropping by to visit an old pal." came Hannibal's voice.

"Oh, don't be so modest, Hannibal!" protested Hades. "Were it not for you, none of these poor souls would ever actually get to see something die!"

With that, the crowd broke into an explosion of cheers and roars. It quickly faded as, Rai guessed, the stands began to empty. The Basilisk that covered the grate suddenly sprang back to life and slithered away followed by the Chimera casting its shadow through the small hole. All was silent now. It was just the two young monks, alone for a few precious minutes. Rai looked over to Kimiko to find that the fire in her eyes was gone. It had been replaced by ice. Cold, unforgiving, ice. "Kimiko…" he muttered.

"Save it Raimundo." Kimiko snapped. "I don't want to hear it."

Rai slapped his forehead. "You know, this really sucks. You're mad at me and I didn't do anything wrong. I swear if you weren't under the power of a Shen Gong Wu I'd be going crazy!"

"What're you talking about?" Kim asked.

"Ok, listen closely, 'cause I'm only gunna have time to say this once. I never joined Hannibal, It was all just a scam cooked up by Guan and me; Master Fung, Clay, Guan and, regrettably, Chase and Jack are still alive; I can tell you almost exactly where Dojo and Omi are; you and I are here looking for a Shen Gong Wu called the Ruby Gauntlet; and, I can't stress this last part enough, you and I are dating!"

Kimiko lit up at these last few words, but she quickly returned to her cold nature. "That's a bald faced lie, Raimundo!" she protested.

Rai groaned. What more could he do to get her to believe him? There wasn't much he could do unless he somehow got the Charm Bracelet. All he wanted to do at that moment was storm over to her, pull her to her feet, and kiss her, hoping that that would somehow jog her memory. But he knew that kind of stuff only worked in movies.

The floor beneath their feet began to shack as the ceiling split in half. Slowly the two pieces melted into the walls and the floor rose, ever so gradually revealing the dragons of fire and wind to the roaring crowd. "Ladies and dead-men," Hades' voice range out, "I give you… Fire and Wind! The battle of the living in the realm of the dead!"

The arena was almost an exact replica of the Roman Coliseum, only made of the same black stone as everything else in the Underworld. Hanging all around the walls were black and dark blue banisters with a symbol of a skull with a sword sticking through it. At one spot there was a raised platform in the stands where Hades and an oversized Hannibal bean sat. On the opposite end from Hades and Hannibal was a gigantic, three-headed wolf chained to the wall. All three of its heads snarled and barked as it drooled over what would most likely be its next meal.

"Mortals!" Hades called out. Kim and Rai turned their attention away from Cerberus to Hades. "The rules of this battle are simple! You are each allowed one weapon from the arsenal you brought with you. Anything else goes. The match is over when one surrenders, or dies! The loser will be fed to Cerberus; the winner can leave with their prize," Hades brought one hand from behind his back to reveal a blood red cylinder that could fit over a persons forearm. "The Ruby Gauntlet!"

Another one of Hades' gremlins emerged from the floor between Kimiko and Raimundo. This one was holding a stone slab on which sat every Shen Gong Wu that the two monks had brought with them. It waddled over and kneeled before Kimiko, offering her one weapon on the slab. Without a second thought, Kim grabbed the Arrow Sparrow. The gremlin then moved over to Rai, who took the Sword of the Storms. Kimiko gave him a confused glare.

"What're you up to? Why didn't you grab the Blade of the Nebula, Raimundo?"

"I can't wager my Wudai Weapon in a Xiaolin Showdown, now can I?" Rai said. With that, he called out to his elemental powers and leapt into the air, landed on the raised platform where Hades and Hannibal sat, and latched onto the Ruby Gauntlet which was still in Hades' hand. "Hades, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown!"

"What trickery is this?!" Hades snapped.

"Accept the challenge!" Hannibal ordered.

Hades gave Hannibal a questioning look before nodding. "Very well. I accept your challenge."

"My Sword of the Storms against your Memory Charm Bracelet." Rai announced. "The game is Pandora's Box! First one to find the box with the Ruby Gauntlet inside wins!"

"Let's go, Xiaolin Showdown!"

A golden light flashed from the Gauntlet as the scenery began to change. The coliseum and stands began to crumble, breaking apart and reforming into six perfectly square walls. The walls slammed together around Raimundo and Hades, creating a large room with no opening to the outside. The inside was illuminated by a single glowing orb hovering in mid air, and every wall (floor and ceiling included was covered in small treasure chests spaced evenly apart.

Raimundo and Hades landed on opposite sides of the room. They wasted no time and immediately shouted in unison, "Gong Yi Tanpai!"

Rai bent down and opened the chest directly in front of him. At first it just looked empty, but it didn't take long for a jet of flames to come shooting from the inside. Rai yelped and stumbled back, he would've fallen if there wouldn't have been a wall right behind him. _Ok, note to self, wrong boxes aren't always empty._ Rai mentally noted before continuing to the next chest.

On the other side, Hades was ripping open chests without a second though to what would come out. Being immortal does have its perks some times. Whether it be fire, ice, lightning, or a copy of one of Cerberus's heads, he just slammed it shut and continued to the next one.

Time went on and still neither competitor had found the gauntlet. Both were on the center row now and were drawing close to the center. Rai grabbed the chest next to the one in the very center of the room and ripped it open. A snarl came from the inside and Rai slammed it shut just before another Cerberus head copy could push its way out. Now it was down to the final chest.

Hades lunged at the last chest. Raimundo grabbed the Sword of the Storms from thin air and called out its name before slashing it through the air and creating a powerful gust of wind. The Lord of the Dead went flying back, slamming against the wall. Rai rushed forward, stabbed the sword between the chest and its lid and pried it open to find…

A bolt of lightning shot out of the chest. Rai just starred at the empty chest, awe struck. What was going on? This was the last chest! He and Hades had checked every last one that was reachable. The Gauntlet should've been in there! Unless…

"My patients are wearing thin!" Hades boomed from across the room. "Where is that blasted Gauntlet! I'll incinerate every chest in here if I have too."

"You're too impatient, Hades. We haven't even checked half of them yet." Rai said.

"What the hell are you talking about?! We've checked every frickin' box on the floor!" Hades snapped.

"That's right." Rai agreed. "Every Box on the floor… Sword of the Storms!" he raised the sword over his head and began to swing it in a circle, slowly moving it over the entire ceiling. One by one, every chest attached to the ceiling, and a few on the walls, opened, each revealing one of the booby traps set. Hades immediately caught on and began to collect dark energy in his hands, using it to blast the chests attached to the walls. After the chests on the ceiling were all open, Rai joined Hades in attacking the walls.

Both saw a small glint of red as one of the chests on the walls fell open. Rai leapt into the air, summoning his elemental powers, and went for it. Hades did the same, calling upon his dark powers to rise into the air. They raced for it, neck and neck until the very end where Rai slashed at Hades with the sword and knocked his out of the way so that he could latch onto the Gauntlet and claim victory.

The Ruby Gauntlet flashed again as the scenery changed back to the Underworld Coliseum. Rai was now standing in the center of the arena holding the three Shen Gong Wu as his prize. Kimiko stood next to him, completely baffled as to what was going on. Hannibal sat on the raised platform, grimacing at the sight of a victorious Raimundo. Hades sat on his hands and knees, glaring down at the floor in rage.

"I lost…" Hades mumbled. "How could I lose in my own domain?"

"Being a god makes you immortal, not invincible." Rai explained.

Hades went silent. His greasy black hair slowly began to turn red, almost seeming to catch on fire. He raised himself off the ground and glared down at Raimundo with a stern bust surprisingly calm face. He reached out and grabbed Rai by the front of his shirt, lifting him off the ground slightly. "You have not seen the last of me." He muttered darkly before letting go of the Brazilian and disappearing in a burst of flames.

All went silent. The crowds in the stands either disappeared or just refused to make a sound and Hannibal was just sitting their awaiting the next move of the two monks.

Rai turned to Kimiko. He was pleased to see that this time her eyes held neither fire nor ice, only confusion and a hint of happiness. "So, Kimiko, ready to get your real memories back?" Rai asked with s smile. It was all Kimiko could do to nod sheepishly. Rai nodded back and stretched his arm in front of him, dangling the Memory Charm Bracelet between his thumb and index finger. "Memory Charm Bracelet!"

It all came flooding back to her. Master Fung, Clay, and Guan weren't dead; regrettably, Jack, Chase, and Wuya were in the same boat; Omi was still alive, though he was a good three-hundred years in the past; Dojo was flying somewhere between Greece and Singapore; Rai had never really joined Hannibal Bean; and most importantly, she remembered the battle and injuries that lead to their becoming a couple. But now the last few hours were a complete mystery to her.

"Rai? What's going on?" she asked. "I thought we were on a black sand beach near the Underworld."

Rai chuckled. "Yeah, it's a long story. But, long story short, we got what we came here for." He said enthusiastically as he brought his other hand in front of himself to reveal a blood red cylinder that could fit over a persons arm. "And with a little something extra, too." He then showed her the small golden chain in his other hand.

"Trade ya!"

The Ying-Yang bird came swooping down and snatched up the bracelet from Rai's hand, but in return, it left a small pile of other Wu on the ground, namely the ones that the two had brought with them.

The next thing they knew, Hannibal and the Ying-Yang bird were gone, disappeared into the Ying-Yang world.

Kim and Rai just stood there, glancing back and forth between the spot in the air where Hannibal had disappeared and the pile of Shen Gong Wu for a few seconds. Something wasn't right. What did Hannibal give them back their Wu? That just wasn't his style. Something was defiantly going on. The only words that Raimundo could find to describe this situation were, "Son of a bitch."

"Who cares? We'll get it back later." Kim said nonchalantly. The two proceeded to grab all the Wu and store them in god knows where the put all those things while on missions, leaving only the Ying and Yang Yo-Yo's out. "Now, whaddo you say we get back to the temple and you can tell me the whole story over lunch?" Kim said as she wrapped her arm around her boyfriend's waist.

"Sound's like a plan to me." Rai agreed, putting his arm around her shoulders.

"It feels like we should be ending this with some cheesy kiss or something, doesn't it?" Kim asked as she wrapped the string of the Ying Yo-Yo around her finger.

"You'd know I'd love to, but I'm exhausted right now." Rai joked as he did the same with the Yang Yo-Yo. "Besides, there'll be time for a lot more than that when we get back to the land of the living."

"I'll hold you're punishment for that one off until you fill me in on the details. Let's just get out of here for now."

"I couldn't agree with you more."

"YING-YANG YO-YO!"


	11. Chapter 10: It's a Pirate's Life for Omi

Believe it or not, I actually need another disclaimer for this chapter: I do not own the Pirates of the Caribbean series.

(a/n) and sorry that I coultdn't follow the story of the movie. for one, I needed to change it enough for Omi to fit in and for two, It's beena while since I've seen it and I couldn't remember exactly what happened up to where I left off. so, without any further delay, I gie you Chapter 10: It's a Pirates Life for Omi.

* * *

Chapter 10: It's a Pirates Life for Omi

It was night. Singapore was quiet and almost deserted. An eerie fog covered the ground and the dark clouds reflected an eerie scarlet color from the red buildings. The voice of a woman singing a very dark version of "Yo Ho, a Pirates Life for Me" could be heard in the background. This could easily have been mistaken for a recently deserted Asian ghost town or the part of ancient Hong Kong where criminals and unfortunate people lived. But no, this was the island base of the Pirate Lord of the South China Sea: Sao Feng.

Few people were foolish enough to walk Singapore's streets at this hour. Only Sao Feng's guards making their nightly patrols, the singing woman rowing her gondola through the shallow canals, and a short young man with a big head wearing an assortment of raggedy clothes and leather armor. Anyone who saw this young man would immediately know that he was not local to Singapore. But much less obvious was that he wasn't even native to this time period. To those of you who haven't figured it out by now, it's Omi.

Omi had already searched half the town. How he was supposed to find a single man in this gigantic place was beyond him. "For Dojo's sake, this Hector Barbosa had better stick out like a sore thumb." Omi grumbled under his breath. It figures that the one time he gets slang right no one is around to hear it.

He hopped onto a roof and peered down to the street below. There were a few of Sao Feng's guards standing at the entrance of a bar and a gondola in a canal with the singing woman, but that was about it.

The woman slowly rowed her gondola up the edge of the canal and stepped out. She, like Omi, was obviously not a local. She had long, dirty blond hair and her singing had an English accent to it. The guards (two of which were probably drunk) immediately jumped to attention and stepped in the woman's way. "One shouldn't be singing around here." Called who Omi guessed was the leader of the troop. "It makes ones presence known. And presence is something that no one wants known at this time of night in Singapore. Especially a woman… and a woman alone at that."

"And what makes you think she's alone?"

Everyone's attention turned to a man walking down a stair case leading from the upper deck of the bar, which was probably more of an inn if you think about it. He had a thick accent, most likely from Britain or Ireland. He wore very dark clothes, a black undershirt with a dark blue jacket over it and a belt slung over one shoulder and under the opposite arm; heavy looking leather boots, and a dark blue wide brim hat with a blue ostrich feather sticking out of the side. He also had tangled dirty blond hair and long beard.

"Barbossa!" called the same guard. "You'd better have a good reason for being here. You know better than I that Captain Feng does not like surprises."

"Aye, but as it turns out, me and my lady friend here have an appointment with Captain Feng. And we wouldn't want to disappoint him, now would we?" Barbossa called back. He was obviously a very cleaver man. "Now, let the lady pass and we'll be on our way. Is at ok with you gent's?"

Reluctantly, with a little struggle from the drunken ones, the guards let the woman pass and she and Barbossa left. Omi followed them by roof top. As time went on, Omi learned that the woman's name was Elizabeth. They eventually led Omi to the one place in Town that he hadn't thought to look: the big ominous looking building in the center of town. It's always the big ominous looking building in the center of town.

Omi hopped onto the roof while Barbossa and Elizabeth walked up the stairs to the main entrance. It didn't take long for him to find a small window to peer through. Inside was, what appeared to be, a steam house. Men and women alike (all of which were fully clothed of course) stood around, mingling and talking. On a raised platform in the center of the room was who Omi guessed to be Sao Feng. He was a bald Asian man with a long yet thin mustache and a few long scars on one side of his head.

It didn't take long for Barbossa and Elizabeth to enter the room. Elizabeth seemed to have changed clothes, for all she wore now was a simple blue bath robe (a/n: for those of you who don't remember that part of the movie, they had to strip Elizabeth down to check for guns and such). Sao Feng was immediately agitated by the English Pirates presence. "Barbossa! To what displeasure do I owe your presence?"

The conversation was long and boring and Omi didn't want to strain his ears to hear through the thick glass. It didn't really matter anyway. All Omi needed to do was avoid Sao Feng; get onto Barbossa's ship; make it safely to Davy Jones' Locker; and Find the Diamond Gauntlet. After all that was done, he could happily use the Sands of Time to return home. And if he was lucky, he might get to practice his swordsmanship on the side.

Time passed on and still Barbossa and Feng hadn't stopped talking. Through his thoughts, Omi soon found himself dozing off. And who would with nothing to do but sit there and wait for… a while. But then, a thundering bang from inside snapped him wide awake. Through the window, Omi could see a huge battle going on between Sao Fengs Pirates and most likely the British Navy. Everywhere you looked people were being cut down by cutlass or shot down by pistols. Most notably was a three way sword battle between Barbossa, Sao Feng, and a high ranking naval officer. Omi took advantage of the situation and activated the Sapphire Gauntlet, which was now hidden under the sleeve of his new shirt, smashed the window and dove in head first. All around guns were going off, swords were clanging together, and orders were being shouted. Omi ended up landing on top of an Asian Pirate and a British soldier, knocking them out thanks to force field in front of him. He took the pistol, ammunition, and gun powder from one and the cutlass from the other, tucking the blade and gun safely under his belt and hiding everything else in one of the large pockets on his pant leg.

_Ok, _he thought, _I have to blend in with the crowd for a time and escape with Barbossa to his ship. From there it should be safe passage to Davy Jones Locker and the Shen Gong Wu._

The next thing he knew, Omi was nearly plowed over by Barbossa who was storming towards the door, shouting orders to the few people in his crew that were there. "All right, gents! We've got our ship, so head out to the docks! We're takin' the Hai Peng!"

Barbossa slammed his foot against the doors and the fell open. He ran out and was soon followed by a group of about eight or nine others including Elizabeth. Omi followed after them, hoping from head to head of other people.

Equal Chaos was going on outside. Explosions, gun shot, even cannon fire could be heard everywhere and the streets were now crowded. The perfect cover for someone trying to discreetly follow a gang of pirates to their ship.

Soon enough, Omi found himself at the docks. There had to be at least five different ships there. All of them had the same red fin sails and over all design. The only difference seemed to be the size of each and the symbols on the side indicating the name. The one that Barbossa and the others were headed for was the smallest of the five. Omi leapt from a near by roof and landed unnoticed onto the deck of the ship just before Barbossa boarded and started barking orders. "Weight anchor and get this tube turned around! We're heading out to sea!"

TIME AND LOCATION UNKNOWN

Who knows how long it had been since the Hai Peng had left Singapore. The ship had entered a strange frozen sea somewhere in the Antarctic. Everyone looked clod and miserable. Many of the crewmen that still remained nameless to Omi were snapping their frozen hair off; a few were going the same to their frost bitten fingers and toes. The only reason Omi wasn't doing the same was because of a special meditation he'd learned from master Fung that kept the body warm.

A few of them, however, Omi had learned the name of. Of course there was Elizabeth and Barbossa; but there was also Elizabeth's fiancé, Will Turner; the first mate, Mr. Gibbs; the comedic duo, Pintel and Regetti; the mute sailor, Mr. Cotton and his parrot; and a black lady named Tia Dalma. And apparently, they were headed to Davy Jones Locker to rescue another pirate named Jack Sparrow.

As Omi went around the ship, helping other crew members and acting like he was just another one of the crew, he managed to catch snippets of conversation from the Barbossa, Will and others. Nothing was that interesting; one was about a gigantic waterfall, another was about a giant squid called the "Kraken", Elizabeth and Will had talked on multiple occasions about their future wedding, nothing that interesting at all. One thing had managed to catch Omi's attention, however. While swabbing the deck one day, he over heard Will, Barbossa, and Tia discussing how they were going to get back from the Locker. This got Omi thinking as well. What if the Sands of Time didn't work inside the Locker? He had no idea what kind of limits the land of those who'd died at sea had. What if none of the Shen Gong Wu worked? Omi was skilled with a sword, but he was nowhere near the level of any of these pirates and a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach told him that he'd have to fight for the Gauntlet.

Omi's thoughts would be answered soon enough. On a stormy night while still sailing through the frozen sea, the man in the crows nest shouted "WATERFALL!"

THE LOCKER

Jack, the witty ex captain of the Black Pearl, stormed away from his ship, stomping over the desert sand mumbling angrily to himself. "Bloody idiots don't know what they're talking about. It's my ship, my orders, and my peanut!"

As Jack continued, he failed to notice something in his path. He ended up tripping over this object, landing flat on his face. Jack pushed himself back to his feet, spitting sand out of his mouth, before spinning around and grabbing the object, ready to throw it away in his blind rage. But that's when he noticed what it was.

It was a cylindrically shaped diamond the size of a fully grown persons forearm. It had a large hole running through the center, making it easy for a person to slip their arm through and wear it like a Gauntlet. Jack could only mutter two words at this marvel, "Pretty rock", before he slipped it on and walked back to his ship, which, he had just noticed, was moving away.

ELSEWHERE IN THE LOCKER

It was quiet, dark, and somewhat damp. Omi slowly forced his eyes open to find himself staring into a cloudless, robins egg blue sky. He sat up, supporting his head in one hand in his grogginess. He was sitting on a beach, the sand was packed together and damp from the sea water gently beating against it every now and again. In the distance he could see the remains of the Hai Peng. It was mostly under water. Only a small portion of the bow and half of the red sails were sticking above the surface. All around Omi were the unconscious bodies of the crew. Nothing that one wouldn't expect really, except for Will and Elizabeth had each other in their arms clinging to each other for dear life; Regetti seemed to have woken up some time ago and was now crawling on the ground, searching for his wooden eye; Pintel had his head stuck in the sand in a comical way; and Barbossa and Tia Dalma were standing a ways away, chatting cheerfully as if the ship had never gone over the falls.

Omi stood up only to have a massive headache hit him so he stumbled a ways and ended up tripping over some random unconscious pirate. "This is just not my century." Omi grumbled to himself before getting back up.

Once his headache was gone and he was wide awake, Omi decided it was time to decide what to do next. He'd followed Dojo's instructions without flaw so far: Get to Singapore, avoid Sao Feng, and get on the Hai Peng. Now that he was in the Locket, it was just a matter of finding the Gauntlet. He could easily just break away from the rest of the crew if he wanted. No one would even notice that one nameless pirate had gone missing. Half the crew had probably dies in the crash anyway. But something told Omi to do otherwise. True, most of these pirates seemed more like extras in the background or comedy relief in a big budget movie; but others seemed to be, to put it in simple terms, smarter than the average bear. Particularly Tia Dalma. So, to go with choice A) slip away silently and try to find the Gauntlet; or B) sit there like a good little not-pirate and wait for something to hopefully happen.

Guess which he picked.

Making sure that all those who were awake didn't see him, Omi slipped away from the beach silently. But as soon as he was safest on the other side of the dunes, his eyes bulged out of his skull and his jaw hit the ground. Off in the distance was a ship, painted completely black, including black sails. But that wasn't what left Omi awe-struck. What shocked him was that the ship was moving… through sand… heading straight for him at an alarming speed!

Only one thing to do when your about to he run over by a pirate ship going half the speed of sound:

RUN!

Omi spun back around and dashed back over the dunes, screaming and yelling like a mad man! Anyone who was awake turned their attention to the short screaming person and then to the ship that he was running away from.

The ship crashed over the dunes, sending sand, dirt, and the occasional crab, flying everywhere. The remaining crew members of the Hai Peng that were still unconscious either woke up and scattered or remained asleep for their unfortunate death. Omi finally came to his senses after a bit and ducked out of the way rather than just running in a straight line. And all the while, Barbossa and Tia Dalma didn't budge. They merely stood where they were and watched with amused grins.

Within no time at all, the ship had made its way into the water and stopped where it was, just like that. No slowing down, no hitting a brick wall, it just stopped.

A figure could be seen holding onto a rope atop the main mast of the ship. He was staring out to sea, not even bothering to blink as if it were the first time he'd seen his home in ten or so years. From where Omi was standing, he could see that the man has a sword under his belt, he wore a strange looking hat, and there was something shiny on his arm. The man grabbed a rope attached to the mast and jumped down, soaring straight over the side of the ship and into the shallow waters. Now he could be seen more clearly. He had a thin goatee; his hair was about as long as Barbossa's but more tame; under his hat he wore a red bandana and there were many beads hanging in his hair; he had a belt slung over one shoulder and under the other arm; he wore a black jacket with a white undershirt and heavy looking boots. There was no doubt about it; this was the man they'd come to save: Captain Jack Sparrow. And around his arm was exactly what Omi had been looking for: the Diamond Gauntlet.

The first words out of his mouth were, "Well, well, well. If it isn't me mutinous crew come to rescue me. Oh, hello Hector. I thought you were dead."

"Yep. That's Jack all right." Will muttered under his breath.

"Well, we've got what we came for and another ship." Barbossa announced. "Let's get back to the realm of the livin'!"

"Say wha…" Jack broke in.

"Ya heard what I said ya bloody idiot."

"Yes, yes, I heard ya. But here's the way I see it." Jack stopped there and proceeded to check out what was left of the crew. After inspecting each one (which lasted about half a second each) he let most, if not all, the borrowed pirates from Sao Feng get aboard the ship: the Black Pearl. This of course included Omi. However it left out Barbossa, Will, Elizabeth, Tia Dalma, Mr. Gibbs, Pintle, Regetti, and Mr. Cotton. He then returned to where he was once standing and continued. "Now then. Why should I sail with any of you? Four of you have tried to kill me in the past. One of you succeeded." All eyes immediately turned to Elizabeth who lowered her head in shame. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a life to return to. C'mon men, we're settin' sail!"

"Jack." Barbossa called out. He continued without even waiting to see if Jack would stop walking or not. "The Brethren Court has been summoned."

"See if I care." Jack retaliated, still not bothering to stop and turn around.

"All nine Pirate Lords need to be present if before we can decide how to deal with Beckett and Jones."

"I've repaid my blood debt to Jones, he can't kill me a second time."

"And what of Beckett?"

"I'll deal with him when I get back to the living realm… with out you."

At that point, Barbossa gave up. Jack's mind was made up and there was no tricking him out of it. Omi however, with his superior twenty-first century intellect, had formulated a plan that would both get him the Gauntlet and get all of these people back to the living realm.

Omi, who was the last of the random crew members not on the ship, stepped in front of Jack. "Pardon me, but…"

"Out of my way kid. You wanna stay here with them, go right ahead." Jack said.

"Oh no, it is nothing like that. I was merely going to ask if you liked to gamble." Omi continued.

Finally, something caught the Pirates attention. He stopped walking, turned around, giving Omi a mischievous smile, and said, "Now you've peeked my interest. So, wha'd you have in mind."

"That Gauntlet on your arm. I'd like you to wager it in a little game against one of my own." Omi pulled back his sleeve to reveal the Sapphire Gauntlet.

"Oh, 'nother pretty rock." Jack said.

"Though, as you may know, Diamonds are much more valuable than Sapphires. So you may have to throw in something more. Say… safe passage back to the living realm for everyone on this beach."

Jack seemed reluctant. He grabbed a small compass from his pocket and flipped it open. After muttering something that sounded like, "Oh bugger," Jack shoved the compass back in his pocket and nodded in agreement. "Quite a bargainer, you are. I like that in a pirate. You'll make a fin pirate captain some day." He said, giving a fake smile.

Omi nodded back before pulling the Thorn of Thunderbolts out of god knows where. "Please, grab onto this, if you please." Hesitant at first, Jack slowly reached out to and grabbed the sharp end of the Thorn of Thunderbolts. As soon as his skin made contact with it, the Shen Gong Wu began to glow.

"The game is capture the w…er… let's call it a flag." Omi announced. "The first on to find and grab the Thorn of Thunderbolts wins.

"The what now?"

"Let's go, Xiaolin Showdown!"

"You're not making any since, mate."

The Thorn of Thunderbolt flashed the scenery began to change. Sand and water swirled and merged into mud; the Black Pearl floated in the air on the sidelines with all the spectators on its deck; Omi and a very confused Jack stood on two patches of sand that hadn't been turned into mud; the Thorn of Thunderbolts landed on another patch of sand off in the distance.

"Gong Yi Tanpai!" Omi shouted.

"Would you, speak bloody English!" Jack demanded.

Omi hung his head. "Just go."

"Thank you."

Jack was the first to move. He took a few steps forward when his foot suddenly sank into the mud. Quicksand. Taking not of this, Omi began to scan the area for even the smallest clue as to where another patch of regular sand might be. He eventually found one, just as Jack managed to free his foot, and went for it. The sand patches were close enough together that a small leap would get a person from one to another, which was lucky for Jack. The pirate captain eventually caught on and followed Omi's example. From there on out, it was no more than a race.

Amazingly, with all that heavy weaponry and boots weighing him down, Jack kept the race very close. The two were neck and neck most of the way through. But then things got complicated when they were only a few leaps away from their prize.

When Omi was about to jump for another landing zone, only five or six jumps away from ending the showdown, a wall mad of sandstone came shooting from beneath the quicksand. This caused Omi to stumble back and fall over. Jack, meanwhile, was to busy laughing and pointing at the bald monk to notice that another wall had shot up in his path. He slammed against it, knocking him unconscious.

Omi sat where he'd landed, pondering how to get around the wall. It was at least ten feet tall, so over was out of the question and around would be a stupid, if not leather, mistake. He'd need a really fast boar or something to get through quicksand.

And that's when a lightning bolt of an idea struck Omi.

Omi pulled back his sleeve once again and activated the Sapphire Gauntlet. With the force field safely in front of him, he dove at the quicksand. The shield kept him safely away from the sand, giving him enough time to grab the Orb of Tornami, position it at the back of the shield, and call out its name before it began to sink. The force field shot forward like a high speed racing boat. Omi somehow managed to maneuver it around the wall and straight at the Thorn of Thunderbolts. When close enough, he leapt from his makeshift boat, latched onto his prize, and landed safely on the solid patch of sand.

The showdown ended and the scenery changed back to its original form. A still unconscious jack lay face down in front of Omi, who was now holding the Diamond and Sapphire Gauntlets, along with the Thorn of Thunderbolts, in his arms.

"Well, that wasn't what I expected but it'll work." Came Barbossas voice. "Pintel, Regetti, grab Jack and drag him to the pearl. And you," he then turned his attention to Omi. "What's you're name?"

"You'll never know." Omi smirked. With that, he put his Shen Gong Wu away and pulled out the Sands of Time. Calling out their name and disappearing back to his own time.

* * *

(a/n) ok, a few things before I leave to write chapter 11. first, I'd like to say that after the three part gauntlet portion, I will now be returning to the main plot of the story, which I've admitably been itching to get back to (the one time I don't have writers block, figures). that doesn't mean that I've forgotten about the fifth and final gauntlet, however. second, I'd just like to say that not counting the remaining Gauntlet (Amethyst), I will only be revealing five more of y orignal Shen Gong Wu through the remaining corse of this story, along with the purpose of the Sleeping Boar (so far only seen in chapter 4). and finally, I'd like to say that I do have plans for a sequal to this story. I will be working on other stories before I get started on it (namely my Xiaolin Zombies and X4 stories) but you can expect to see a follow up to the 5th dragon. 


	12. Chapter 11: An Ordinary Day Sort of

(a/n) you guys got extremely lucky on this one. as the title of this chapter implys, I felt like taking a break from action after all the adventuring that I've writen about in the last three chapters, so I just went with an semi-ordinary day at the temple for this chapter. the ideas flowed like a river and I got it done in no time at all. I hope you all enjoy this chapter from its hylarious begining to its surprise yet predictable ending. now get to reading!

* * *

Chapter 11: An Ordinary Day… Sort of

Well, after successfully retrieving three of the four remaining Gauntlets and Dojo having to search half the planet for the five young monks, the team returned to the temple and, despite wanting to celebrate, took a well deserved rest. It was early morning now and everyone was sleeping peacefully in bed. It wasn't until about ten in the morning that anyone woke, at which point a still half asleep Clay walked out of his room mumbling something about a shower. With his eyes closed, however, he failed to notice that instead of heading for the bathroom he was about to walk right into a wall. The resulting thud managed to rouse two, not all four, of his friends: namely the two Chinese siblings Omi and Saya.

"Who put this wall here?" Clay asked, now a bit more alert than before.

Saya could barely hold back her laughter. Omi on the other hand, considering his adventures at sea yesterday (or whenever you want to call it) simply leaned against a wall and began to snore again.

"C'mon Clay," Saya said before helping the cowboy up and pointing him in the right direction. "You might as well wake up Raimundo and Kimiko on your way. I'm not sure whether Master Fung's gunna give us the day off today or not."

"He'd better!" Clay snapped. "I'm sorer than a…"

"No metaphors right now, cowboy. Now go wake up Romeo and Juliet."

"All right, all right! I'm goin', I'm goin'." Clay groaned before continuing toward the other side of the room. As ordered. He poked his head into Raimundo's room on his way. "Hey, Rai. Time to…" he stopped, unable to finish his sentence because of the sight before him. He just stood there with his jaw hanging open slightly before yelling, "WHAT IN TARNATION!!!"

Saya immediately forgot what she was doing when she heard Clay yelling and went to investigate. She pushed Clay out of the way and looked into Rai's room. Like Clay, she was temporarily dumbfounded by what she saw. There was Rai, still wearing his clothes from the day before, still sleeping. The shocking part, however, was that he had one arm wrapped around Kimiko who was lying down next to him. Like Rai, she was still wearing her clothes from the day before, but just the fact that they were lying next to each other, **asleep**, was enough to put their friends into a state of shock. The only words Saya managed to say were, "Clay, keep Omi back."

Now it was the Wind Dragons turn to awaken. He sat up, removing his arm from Kimiko's waist, yawned and stretched his arms. He looked up at his door (curtain is more like it) to see Saya standing there, half shocked and half embarrassed. Then, after glimpsing some black hair to his left, he turned his head to find his girlfriend lying down next to him. His eyes bulged out of his head and his face turned bright red. He turned back to Saya and said, "I swear, this isn't what it looks like!"

"What… isn't what it… looks like?" yawned Kim, who was now half awake.

Saya folded her arms over her chest. "The fact that I happen to find you and Rai sleeping in the same bed!" she exclaimed.

"Wha…" Kim yawned again. She sat up and opened her eyes a bit more. It was then that she noticed that she was, in fact, in Rai's room and the boy in question was sitting next to her. She snapped to her senses and said, "Ok, I can explain this!"

"Don't bother, we can get a pretty clear, yet disturbing, image from what we've seen thanks." Clay called from the other side of the curtain, followed by, "Omi, sit down! You ain't goin' in there!"

"What you guys do behind closed doors, or curtains in this case, is you're business. I, for one, could honestly care less. But if Master Fung finds out…"

"Master Fung isn't gunna find out because we didn't do anything!" Rai snapped. "Did we? My memory is a bit fuzzy after we left the underworld."

"That's because you fell asleep right after we got out of the Ying-Yang world." Kim explained. "Now, if everyone is ok with it, **I'll **explain how this happened."

"Oh, this oughta be good." Saya said under her breath. And so, Kimiko went on to explain how after Rai ended up passing out on the way back to the temple and she was the one who ended up carrying him back to his room. After setting him down, she was just so tired that she collapsed down next to him.

"And **that's** what happened, nothing else. And I swear, if I hear one crack about this from you or Clay you'll both wake up tomorrow with your hair on fire."

Both Saya and Clay, who'd managed to hog-tie Omi with a rope by this time, eyes the other two suspiciously. As much as their instincts told them that Kim's story was a lie, the look on the Wind and Fire Dragons faces said otherwise. Either Kim had a really good poker face or she was defiantly telling the truth. And as for Rai, well, he just had that look that said, "Listen to her." After about as much internal debating as one can stand, the blond girl and the cowboy both accepted Kim's story and left the room for breakfast, dragging Omi along behind them.

As soon as he was certain that their friends were out of the bed chamber, Rai plopped back down on his mat and sighed. "Well, that was embarrassing." He said.

Kim giggled. "Can you believe that they actually thought that we…" she couldn't bring herself to say the rest.

"I know, what were they thinking?" Rai chuckled.

"Well, you've got to admit, their suspicions were perfectly reasonable." Kim said. "I mean, what would you think if you walked in on Clay and Saya in the same bed?"

"I dunno. But thanks for putting an image in my head that I didn't want to see." Rai joked. "Besides, those two aren't dating."

"Yet." Kim said with an amused laugh.

"Yeah… yet." Rai agreed. "I've gotta admit one thing though, Kim. That was defiantly the best nights sleep I've ever had."

Kim smiled mischievously as she lied down next to the Brazilian boy. "Well," she whispered in a seductive tone, "Play your cards right and this might not be the last time you sleep this well."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Maybe." The two just lie there for a while, silently enjoying each others company. It wasn't until Rai got to his feet, helping the Japanese girl up after him, that anything really worth mentioning happened.

"Well, you do what you want, babe. But I'm changing and getting breakfast. I think I smell bacon frying."

Kim giggled quietly before kissing her boyfriend quickly and heading to her room. "You do that." She said. "I'm gunna have a shower before I eat."

"Mind if I join you?" Rai asked, using his first sarcastic remark of the day.

"You try anything like that and I'll fry your bacon." Kim called back before she closed the bathroom door behind her.

THAT AFTERNOON

After everyone had had their breakfast and a shower, they began their daily routine. Though they didn't have to search for the Amethyst Gauntlet for the day since they gathered the other three in amazing time, they still weren't exempt from training and chores for the day. All and all, it seemed like it would be a pretty normal day, other than Clay and Saya constantly snickering every time Rai and Kim entered a room together.

With their chores done and having just training finished training minutes ago, Rai figured that this would be the perfect time to ask Master Fung if he and Kim could leave for the evening. He looked over his shoulder quickly to make sure the cost was clear. Kim and Saya were chatting about something by the fountain, Clay was snoozing with his back propped against a tree, and Omi was running away from a squirrel, screaming like an idiot. He slipped away unnoticed and eventually found Master Fung drinking Tea in the Kitchen. "Master Fung, could I have a word?"

"Of course, Raimundo." Master Fung said, "I always have time to speak to one of my students."

"Thank you sir." Rai said, grinning sheepishly and rubbing the back of his head. "You see, I was wondering if maybe, with your permission of course, Dojo could fly me into town tonight. I kind of have plans with someone." Master Fung eyed him suspiciously with one raised eyebrow. Time to drop the bombshell. "Actually, not just me. That someone I have plans with… it's actually Kimiko."

Master Fung lowered his eyebrow and nodded, taking another sip of his tea before he spoke. "I thought something had changed between the two of you." He said. "Very well. You have my permission. However, you are to be back no later than midnight, and there is to be no _after party_, if you catch my drift."

Rai nodded and said thank you politely, but I his head thousands upon thousands of words like "Yes", "Woo-hoo", and "All right" were going off like fire works.

Meanwhile, back outside, Kim and Saya were still sitting on the edge of the fountain talking about god knows what. So far, the conversation had only been meaningless banter going from topic to topic. But there was one question that Kim had been itching to ask Saya, something that might or might not be decent revenge for that morning. "So Saya, what's going on with you and Clay?"

Saya went red instantly. "Wha-what are you talking about?" she stuttered, trying to hider her embracement.

"Ah, so now the tables have turned." Kim joked. "You mean that you two constantly hanging out, the way you called him a gentlemen when he first spoke to you, the look on your face when you two were teamed up yesterday, and countless other things have all been in my imagination?"

The blond sighed. "No, I guess not."

"So, spill girl. What's really going on between you two?"

"I don't know." Saya muttered, looking at her reflection in the water. "I mean, unlike you, I'm not going to deny it. I do like Clay. And I have to admit it; I've already pecked him on the cheek twice. But really, nothing big is going on. It's not like he's jumped in the way of a lethal hammer like Rai did for you."

"Don't reminder me." Kim groaned. "That's not exactly how I imagined I'd ever get together with anyone."

The next thing either of them knew, Rai was standing next to them. He had that grin on his face that either meant that he had really good news or he'd just pulled a hilarious prank on someone. "What's up Rai?" Kim asked.

"Kim, you'd better get ready for tonight. You and I are going to town!" Rai announced. "Oh, hey Saya. I didn't see you there."

"I'll just leave you two alone." Saya said before getting up and walking away.

"So. Master Fung actually said yes?" Kim asked after Saya was out of ear shot.

"Yep. We just have to be back before midnight and, put into his terms, there's to be no _after party_." Rai explained. "So, just meet me here around seven. I was thinking we could catch a movie."

"Sounds good to me." Kim agreed. "I don't really care what movie we see." She got up from where she sat, pressed her body against Rais and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Besides, odds are we won't really be paying attention."

"I like the sound of that."

Unknown to the two in question, who were now sharing a bit of a moment, a certain blond Chinese girl was listening to their every word from around the corner. She couldn't help but giggle at the fact that, had it not been for the talk that she'd had with Kim in practically the exact same place, those two probably wouldn't be having their plans.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you that it isn't polite to eavesdrop?"

Saya jumped and quietly yelped at hearing Omi's voice, having thought that she was alone. After getting back to her senses, she retaliated with, "Didn't anyone ever tell you it's not polite to sneak up on people?"

"Not really. I never had anyone to sneak up on before the others came to the temple." Omi explained. "So, what're those two up to?"

"Oh, nothing Omi. They're just arguing, as usual."

Omi gave his sister an annoyed frown. "You know, I'm not as stupid as everyone thinks. It became perfectly clear to me about Raimundo and Kimiko after you explained it to me a few weeks ago."

"I'll remember to give you more credit from now on, now leave. You're gunna blow my cover!" Saya ordered.

"Too late."

Saya froze at the sound of Kims voice. She slowly and shakily turned around to find the Dragons of Wind and Fire standing behind her with that "You're in trouble" look. "Kim! Rai! What're you doing here?" Saya asked nervously. "Omi and I weren't talking about anything! Especially not how I was listening to you guys… oh, damn it!" The Dragon of Lightning stormed off to find Clay before she could betray herself again.

Once she was gone for sure, Rai burst out laughing. Omi and Kim joined him soon enough. "Thanks Omi man. I'll get ya that five buck soon enough."

"I believe the deal was ten dollars." Omi snapped. "Don't think you can trick me. I've out smarted pirates, thank you very much."

"Fine, fine! Ten bucks. It's yours as soon as Kim and I get back tonight."

"That's more like it."

After leaving the love birds and her brother behind, Saya decided to look for Clay. It didn't take long to find the big lug snoozing under a tree. Odds are only one thing would wake him up. She snuck over to where his was lying, leaned over, and said, "Hey Clay, Master Fung said he's making us all give up on eating meat."

Instantly, Clay's eyes snapped open and he leapt to his feet. "Why that no good, bald headed, tofu eatin', slave drivin'…"

"Whoa, Clay! Calm down!" Saya broke in. he's not forcing us to be vegetarians. I just said that to wake you up."

The Texan stared at her, half dumbfounded and half enraged. But there was also a small part of him that was still too tired to do anything about it… for now. "All right, so whad ya want?" he yawned as he sat back against the tree. Saya sat down next to him.

"Just wanted someone to talk to. I was sort of eavesdropping on Rai and Kim so I'm trying to avoid them right now. And as for Omi, well, let's just say he's being a brother and leave it at that."

Clay nodded. "So, what were Romeo and Juliet talking about?"

"As it turns out, those two have a date tonight."

"Really. Well, good for them."

Both fell silent. The subject at hand had gotten them both thinking. Saya was mostly thinking about her earlier conversation with Kimiko. She'd admitted no more than ten minutes ago that she did have feelings for Clay. She also had to admit that all of Kim's accusations were true. So what force on this earth was keeping her from admitting everything to his face? Some primal human emotion, no doubt. Nervousness, fear, shyness, there's a list a mile long. If only there was a Shen Gong Wu that could rid people of such feelings. _Well, there's not! _Saya mental scolded herself. _Oh, screw this! We're alone. I might as well get it over with._

As for Clay, well, basically the same things were running through his head… except for the parts that involved Kimiko. And unlike the girl sitting next to him, Clay hadn't really spoken to anyone about this. But like they say, "If not now, when?" right?

One second they were just sitting there in complete silence and deep in thought. The next, by some amazing stroke of luck, they were speaking the exact same simple yet affective words in perfect unison. "Do you want to go out some time?" They both said it quickly, almost as though they didn't want the other to hear.

The two both turned red instantly and turned towards each other. Saya was smiling sheepishly while Clay was slightly gawking stupidly. "Did you just…" Clay began.

"Yeah." Saya answered. "And you too?"

"Uh-huh." Clay nodded.

They both fell silent again. This time, however, neither of them were thinking anything except, "Yes, god damn it! Yes!" But for some reason or another, they couldn't bring themselves to utter anything. Don't you hate it when that happens?

Eventually, Saya managed to find her way back to reality. Had it not been for what she did next, Clay might not have ever come out of his own shock. She replaced her sheepish smile with a seductive yet still shy one. She leaned in slowly, watching the shock and anticipation grow in Clay's eyes. After a few long, antagonizing seconds, Saya pressed her lips against Clays. The kiss was brief (though it lasted longer than the first kiss of the temples other resident couple), but not brief enough that Clay didn't get the message.

Saya backed away. She knew full well that Clay got her message, but she couldn't stop herself from saying in anyway. "Yes Clay, I'd love too."

Unfortunately for those two, they were too caught up in the moment to realize that in the branches above their heads, three pairs of eyes were watching them. Raimundo and Kimiko sat on a branch just high enough that their feet weren't dangling in sight. Omi sat on a branch above them. All three of them had that "how cute" smile as if they were watching a puppy and a new born baby playing together. "Revenge is sweet, isn't it Rai?" Kim asked.

"I've got to agree with you there, Kim." Rai agreed.

"As odd as it is getting my sister 'hooked up', as you put it, I feel strangely pleased with myself." Omi said.

"Congratulations team." Rai said. "Operation match maker was a complete success."

* * *

(a/n) I'd just like to say I have no idea where I got the idea fro Rai and Kim to sleep in the same bed by accident, it just came to me while writing the moon chapter. also, I can honestly say Im happy with the way I got Clay and Saya together. it wasnt all that romantic and tragic like with rai and kim, but trust me, those two will go through their own tragedy eventually. now its time to talk about chapter 12. I'm not sure what I'm gunna do at this point. I'm debating between splitting it between Rai and Kims date and finding the amethyst gauntlet, or something else. 


	13. Chapter 12: Visions

Chapter 12: Visions

Fog covered the ground as fare as the eye could see. Nothing loomed above or below the low lying cloud, only a gray sky stretching from horizon to horizon. The ground below seemed to be no more than a slab of white stone. This was a place of complete emptiness and silence. A place where souls departed from the living realm could linger for all eternity without the tortures of hell or excepting death by going to heaven. A place were any mortal man would lose his mind. A place with no good, no evil, no emotion.

This was limbo.

Only one man of the earth has ever stepped onto his god forsaken place. A man of the Xiaolin order whose only purpose in this place was to hide something dear to him. A weapon that causes no physical harm, but is just as capable of destruction. It is here where the Amethyst Gauntlet is hidden. Grand Master Dashi hid the last of his five Gauntlets in this place to prevent the set from ever joining together again. True the five together were what gave him the power defeat Wuya and save the world, but the power was enough even to drive him, a Grand Master Dragon, mad. It had driven Dashi to the border line between good and evil. No one man should have that kind of power.

The elder monks of those days predicted that five young dragons would rise to claim the Gauntlets one day, each claiming one as their own. Until then they were to be kept safe. Far away from each other and out of mortal mans reach. And so, the Gauntlets were scattered. One was sent above the clouds, another beneath the earth; one to the realm of the dead, another to remain with the living; and one another dimension.

Dashi always expected that the other four would be found eventually, but never dreamed that the Amethyst would be in human hands again. But he forgot one thing…

Heylin Magic has no boundaries. One needs only to find the correct loophole.

Through the thick fog and empty space of Limbo, a portal opened. Swirls of black and purple sprang into sight. Out stepped a man and two jungle cats. The man was pale; the gaze of his dragon eyes seemed to see through the mind of anyone he saw; his mane of long black hair swayed not in wind, but in a gust of magic. Behind him stood a white tiger and a leopard.

Chase Young turned his head, taking in the unchanging sight of Limbo slowly. "A desolate and depressing place… enough to drive even myself mad, after an extended period. Well thought out Dashi, but you're cunning can only last so long." Chase said. "Fan out! The final Gauntlet shouldn't be to far off. Whichever of you brings it to me first will earn their freedom back."

The Tiger and the Leopard bowed to their master quickly before padding away. Chase remained where he stood, continuing to observe the surrounding area. "What godforsaken soul would choose to wander her for all eternity rather than bask the lights of heaven after death? And surly a place like this must be more torture than hell itself."

"You would know, wouldn't you, Chase."

Chase spun around. His portal had vanished and in its place stood an exact copy of himself. They were identical in almost every detail. From the pale skin to the mane of black hair to the dragon leather armor. The only noticeable difference was the eyes. While the Chase from earth had yellow eyes that resembled those of a cat, the other Chase had normal human blue eyes. "What sorcery is this?" the dragon eyes Chase demanded.

"This is no trick, Chase. This is what happened when you chose immortality over loyalty to a friend. From the moment the Lao-Mang-Lon soup touched your lips, I, your good side, have remained in Limbo. What's it been now? Fifteen-hundred years?" the blue eyes Chase replied.

"You expect me to regret that my decision because of your suffering?"

"No. I have long since discarded my scorn towards you. I come to you with a warning, Chase Young. You are going to be betrayed."

"By whom? My minions?" Chase chuckled. "Only one has ever had the ability to act against my will. I have long since discarded of him."

"No, you jungle cats will remain loyal to you through and through." Limbo chase retaliated. "Hear me out when I say that you should leave this place without your prize, the power of the five Gauntlets will make you all powerful, there's no doubt about that, but it will also make you blind. Hear me when I say that should you obtain the power of the Gauntlets, you will fall, Chase young. You will fall at the hands of that which of have created."

"What? A world under my rule and a black cloud?"

"Your own ignorance!"

The two Chases glared at each other, both with nothing more to say. The two cats Chase had sent out earlier had returned, the White Tiger with a purple cylinder in its jaw. Chase took the Gauntlet in his hand and turned back to his identical counterpart. "This conversation is over. I have what I came for. Your words are nothing but a bitter memory once I return to Earth."

"My words are very real, Chase. You will not die any time soon, but you will fall. And that mole you have placed in the Xiaolin Temple will have its hand in it."

Chase ignored his words and reopened his portal. "You no longer exist." He said "The good in Chase Young died fifteen-hundred years ago." With that, he stepped through the purple and black vortex and vanished from Limbo forever.

THE TEMPLE

It was somewhere near midnight. The temple was quiet, nice and quiet… too quiet. The kind of silence that just feels like it's drilling into your skull. But that's to be expected when the two loudest members of the team left nearly six hours ago and have yet to return. As for everyone else: Clay and Saya had spent the rest of the day together. They'd been gone for most of the day until it was time for Rai and Kim to leave, at which point they showed up with Omi and Master Fung, holding hands of course. Saya had made the mistake of telling Rai and Kim to "Play nice" as Dojo was taking off. Rai shot back by saying, "We should say the same about you two." Then there was the matter of Omi. The short one had been wondering around the temple al day complaining about being bored out of his mind. Then again, that's to be expected when you're the only one who's not in a relationship and there's no one else around.

Omi sighed as he starred up at the night sky from the temple rooftop. "I wonder why Raimundo and Clay find girls so interesting?" he asked himself. He sat up to look down at the temple grounds. He spotted Clay and Saya sleeping under what they'd proclaimed to be their favorite tree for obvious reasons. Clay was lying on his back with his head propped up against the tree trunk and his hat hiding his face. Saya was curled up next to him with her head resting on his chest. Omi couldn't help but give a small smile at the sight. Even he had to admit that Clay and Saya didn't look half bad together.

Just the sight of those two got Omi thinking. "I wonder who the future has in store for me." He asked himself. "I'm sure Master Fung won't mind if I take a quick trip to the vault."

Omi leapt to his feet, jumped down from the roof, and headed for the vault. He opened the vault as silently as possible and made his way inside. It didn't take him long to find the Crystal Glasses, place them on his head and whisper their name.

Omi found himself looking at the temple from a far off mountain. It was raining. The sky was covered in coal black clouds. The smell of smoke and burning flesh filled the air. The temple was on fire and burning figures of people were running out of the gates. The few areas of the temple that weren't on fire were completely destroyed: walls crumbling into dust, walk ways covered in roof shingles and scraps of metal, etc. it was a sight of pure horror. Off in the distance, there was the fading figure of Rai, cradling Kim in his arms, fly away. In the temple yard, someone who was probably Clay was facing off against what looked like a giant golden armadillo or something, it was hard to tell from that distance, in a ring of fire. There was no sign of himself, Master Fung, Dojo, or Saya.

It wasn't long until Omi couldn't bear to look at this any more. But instead of taking the Crystal Glasses off, he simply turned his head. It was then that he noticed that, standing on the same cliff as he was were two all too familiar figures. Chase Young and his hooded minion. Both were staring down at the burning temple. Omi couldn't tell what the hooded figure was thinking, thanks to his face being shrouded by shadows, but Chases expression could be read all to easily. His eyes reflected the fire below with pure joy. A discreet joy, mind you, but joy none the less.

"That insect Jack Spicer did quite well." Chase said. "I'm amazed that he actually accomplished the task we set for him, especially since we never told him."

"I'll never forgive you for this." The hooded figure said. The voice was deep and raspy, but for some reason it seemed familiar to Omi.

"There will be nothing to be forgiven, after I retrieve the Memory Charm Bracelet and erase your memories again." Chase retaliated. "This plan would never have worked without you, my friend. Had you not attacked the Dragon of Wind, the other monks wouldn't have gone looking for the Chiyu Box, which would've stopped Jack Spicer from retrieving the Wu he needed. You should feel pleased."

"Trust me, the last thing I'm feeling right now is pleased, and I am anything but your friend. I'd kill you at the first chance I had, had it not been for you owning me."

"You wagered your loyalty against me and lost. You should consider it a miracle that you can even speak freely to me. What's even more amazing is that you managed to give one of the Memory Charms to Spicer against my will. You are very troublesome, but any beast can be broken, given the right incentive."

The cloaked figure went into a blind rage. He lurched out and grabbed Chase Young by the neck. "You threatened the lives of my friends and family, you bastard! I only followed your orders because of them."

"And now that the Temple is gone, they are no longer in my line of sight. And you have earned back your freedom." Chase choked. These words caused the cloaked figure to let go of Chase's neck and step back. "But be warned, once you are no longer mine, you and your precious family and friend will suffer just as everyone else. I'll make sure of it."

Both went silent. The hooded figure stared into Chases dragon eyes for the longest time, seeming to contemplate how he would react. Trying to decide whether to back down, or kill. Omi understood how he felt. Wanting revenge yet unable to obtain it, he felt the exact same way while he was under Chase's power.

The cloaked figure lifted one hand and began to remove his hood. But just as his head was about to come into view, the Crystal Glasses were snatched away from Omi's face. Omi found himself back in the Shen Gong Wu vault, face to stomach (**a/n: I just love messin' with words**) with, who else, Saya. Saya was looking down at him with her arms crossed over her chest and an annoyed yet curious look on her face. "Omi, what were you doing with the Crystal Glasses?"

Omi grinned nervously as sweat began to role down his face. "Nothing, nothing at all!" he said as if it were one word. "Oh, look at the time! I've got to get to bed! Gotta go, see ya, bye!" with that, Omi raced out of the vault.

Saya waited until her little brother was out of the room (three seconds total) to place the Crystal Glasses over her eyes to see what he was looking at. She gasped at what she saw: the burning temple, Clay facing that golden whatever it was, Chase and the hooded figure, the hooded figures face. She tore the glasses away from her face and tossed them to the ground. She backed away from them slowly, starring at the ancient spectacles in horror. "Oh my god."

THE NEXT DAY

Breakfast the next day was… eventful to say the least. Dojo somehow managed to set the table ablaze while cooking so everyone ended up eating in the yard. The five teenagers ended up eating around the fountain. Rai and Kim, who'd returned from their date an hour late unbeknownst to everyone else, had finished eating already and were now silently lying on the grass next to each other watching the clouds. Clay and Saya, much to Omi's annoyance, hadn't even touched their food yet because they were to busy making out. As for Omi, well, he wasn't even on this planet so to speak. He was to busy thinking over what he'd seen in the Crystal Glasses the night before.

And this is the part when a picture perfect scene is destroyed by the temples scaly green gecko slithering into view and holding the Ancient Scroll of the Shen Gong Wu. "Hey, would somebody pry those two apart?" Dojo asked. "We've got a new Wu on the radar."

"What about the Amethyst Gauntlet?" Saya asked after reluctantly pulling away from Clay and wiping some saliva from the side of her mouth.

"Weirdest thing, actually. I can't remember where it is and for some reason I'm not getting a signal from it." Dojo explained.

"Still, shouldn't we be looking for it?" Omi asked.

"Na… it's not even a weapon, like the others. All it can do is tell a person what few or no people know. We should be fine as long as who ever has it doesn't get his grubby hands on the others."

"Makes since to me." Clay said. "So, what's the new Wu?"

Dojo nodded and pulled the two halves of the scroll apart. The moving picture showed a person holding what looked like a bird. What everyone guessed to be sound waves were shooting out of the birds' chest and going towards another person on the other side of the screen who was crouching down and covering his ears. "It's called the Roosters Crow." Dojo said. "It's a Megaphone crafted to look like a rooster. When activated, it emits an ear splitting, almost deafening screech. It's really effective if you need to temporarily cripple your enemies in battle."

"Ok, sounds cool enough." Rai said. "But, where is it?"

"Well, I hope you kids like it hot, 'cause we're heading for Saudi Arabia."

"Great, I get back from a literal Hell only two days ago and now we're going to one of the hottest places on earth." Kim complained. "What I wouldn't give to go somewhere cold right about now."

ARABIAN DESERT

"I hate the heat." Kim groaned.

"But I thought Fire was your element." Rai said.

"That doesn't mean I can stand inhuman temperatures!" Kim snapped.

The gang was now traveling through a scorching desert… by foot. Dojo happened to pass out from the heat a few hours ago, leaving them stranded in the middle of nowhere with no way of finding the Roosters Crow. Had it not been for Jack and Wuya flying over them they'd probably be wandering aimlessly around. So only one question remained. Should they let each other die of starvation, or turn to cannibalism?

"Jack's probably got the Roosters Crow by now." Clay said. "He's probably back at his place giving himself a congratulatory beer or something."

"Please, don't talk about liquids!" Saya groaned. "I feel like I'm dehydrated enough as it is."

"I do not see why you all are complaining so much." Omi said cheerfully. Unlike everyone else, he was walking at a steady pace rather than shuffling along. Of course, why wouldn't he when he's the only one who can keep himself hydrated without drinking anything. "I could spend days searching around here."

"Good for you, Camel-Man." Clay said, glaring at Omi.

"Ok, if we end up starving, I say we eat Omi first." Rai joked.

No one said anything until Omi was safely over a sand dune, at which point they all said, "Agreed."

The next thing anyone knew, Jack came flying over the dunes with Omi attached to his legs. The two were wrestling in mid air over what looked like a golden chicken with a blow horn coming out of its chest. The Roosters Crow no doubt.

"Hand's off, cue ball! I got this Wu fare and square!" Jack shouted.

Omi jumped from Jacks legs onto his back and began to rip the helabot apart. This of course caused Jack to lose control of his flight. He went out of control, zooming one way, turning to another on a dime, flipping upside down and practically chopping some heads off. Eventually he managed to slam into a sand dune, knocking Omi off of his back and dropping the Roosters Crow as well. Everyone dove for it, including Jack and Omi who got back to their feet amazingly fast. Only two managed to grab onto it though.

"Jack, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown!" Kim announced.

Jack nodded in agreement. "My Combo-Sickle against your Hitsuji Hammer."

"The game is Sand Boarding. First one to reach the bottom of the San Dune wins."

"Let's go, Xiaolin Showdown!"

Geysers of sand began to burst from the ground around them. The next thing anyone knew, Jack and Kim were standing at the top of a mountain of sand. Everyone else, including Wuya, was on a patch of sand floating in mid air to view the showdown. Kimiko looked at the board in her hand. It was a pink snowboard with flames painted from the front to about half way down. Jacks board was similar only black with silver flames.

_All right Kim, _Kimiko thought, _you used to surf all the time in Tokyo. Let's hope you haven't gotten rusty. Then again this might be more like snowboarding, in which case, I'm screwed._

"Gong Yi Tanpai!"

Jack managed to beat Kim across the starting line (technically there wasn't a starting line, but whatever). It didn't take long for Kim to follow, however. They zoomed down the sand mountain, neck and neck most of the time. Eventually, Jack found that he was within striking range and decided to play a little dirty. He pulled out the Combo-Sickle and slashed at the back of Kim's board. A large clump of sand ended up attaching itself to the board. Kim lost her balance because of this and flipped backwards landing ass first in the sand. Kim sat up, rubbing the back of her head as she watched Jack slide away. "All right Jack, you wanna play dirty, let's play dirty." She said. She pulled out the Hitsuji hammer and smashed it against the sand. The resulting shock waves sent a pulse of sand hurtling towards Jack. The sand struck him in the back and he crashed forward, ending up with a mouthful of sand. Kim jumped back to her feet, kicked the sand off the back of her board quickly, and started back down the dune. As she passed Jack, she shouted, "What's the matter Jack? Don't you like eating sand?"

"Oh, you're gunna eat my sand." Jack breathed before spitting and jumping back to his feet.

Kim remained ahead of Jack for most of the remainder of the Showdown. There were a few time that Jack almost managed to pass her, but she usually stopped him with a quick turn which shot sand in his face. As Rai watched from the floating sand island, he couldn't decide which he enjoyed more: watching Jack get his ass kicked, or watching Kim in action. Either way, this qualified as You Tube worthy. Now if only he had brought his camera.

Kim could see the finish line. It was roughly a quarter mile away. She was close to ending it, but she knew something was going to happen. Something always happened this close to the end of anything. Sure enough, Jack came zooming by at that exact second. Apparently Omi hadn't been able to completely destroy the helabot and Jack had rigged it to give his board an extra boost. Thinking quickly, Kim grabbed the Hitsuji Hammer against and tossed it at Jacks board. It was practically Thor's hammer! It went straight for Jacks board, crushed it and the helabot, and went flying back to her. She barely managed to catch it before it smashed her skull!

With Jack out of the way, Kim was able to cross the finish line with no trouble. The scenery changed back to normal and Kim appeared alongside her friends holding the Hitsuji Hammer, the Combo-Sickle, and the Roosters Crow.

The gang went into a chorus of congratulations for Kim, which mostly consisted of Clay and Saya playfully slapping her on the back and Rai giving her a bear huge. Jack watched all of this from the sidelines. When he saw Raimundo hug Kimiko, all he could say was, "I seriously need to get myself a girlfriend."

"Shut up, boy." Wuya said. "Now let's get back to your place so I can yell at you for losing another Showdown."

_Note to self, _Jack thought, _go on a Wu raid tomorrow. Leave Wuya behind._

* * *

(a/n) as some of you might've guessed, this chapter had two purposes. the first was to get Kim into a showdown, because I realized recently that I had yet to put her in one. the other reason was to bring in the Roosters Crow shen gong wu, which will play a decently big role in the next chapter. one more thing, I know what half of you are thinking. "What? Chase has a mole in the temple? it must be Saya because she's the only new person around!" well trust me, you'll never guess right, but I'd love to see you try. I hope you all look forward to the final sequence of chapters, revealing Chases and Hannibals plans, seeing the signifigance of Omi's vision in the Crystal Glasses, and seeing the final battle between Xiaolin and Heylin... for now. It all begins in unlucky Chapter 13: The End Begins. 


	14. Chapter 13: The End Begins

(a/n) five days ago, I uploaded chapter 12. five days later (today) I give you chapter 13. guick, huh? you didn't exactly get lucky this time, I've actually been wanting to do this chapter for quite some time and I had it all planned out long before I even started. so, without further delay, sit back and enjoy the show.

* * *

Chapter 13: The End Begins

Omi looked back at the temple from the mountain path. It pained him more than anyone would ever know to leave, but something about what he'd seen in the Crystal Glasses the night before was calling to him to leave. Something was telling him that if everything didn't go exactly as his vision did, everything that possibly could go wrong would. He recalled everything he'd seen. Rai cradling Kim in his arms as he used his wind powers to fly away; Clay facing off against that golden beast; most of the temple set ablaze; there had been no sign of Master Fung, Saya, Dojo, or himself which meant they were either all dead or not there.

Omi sighed and turned around. He looked down at his new traveling clothes. From the neck down, they made him completely unrecognizable. He wore a pair of old gray sweat pants and a black hoody with the sleeves ripped off. He had a backpack slung over his shoulder to carry everything he'd need for the trip ahead: food, clothes, the Orb of Tornami, the Shimu Staff, the Kaijin Charm, and a framed picture of everyone at the temple. With one last look at the only home he'd known all his life, he mouthed the words, "good bye," and began to walk away.

"And where do you think you're going, kid?"

Omi froze. There was no way someone could've noticed he was gone already. It hadn't been ten minutes since he'd left the grounds. He turned around slowly, expecting to see Master Fung or someone like that. But no, instead he found himself looking at Dojo. "Dojo? What're you doing here?"

"I think I'm the one who should be asking you that." Dojo said. He crossed his arms. "What exactly are you doing here? It's the middle of the freakin' night, you look like you're about to become a drifter, and you didn't even bother to say good bye to anyone. You can throw in an explanation any time now."

"I'm leaving." Omi breathed.

"Why? Is Chase Young trapped in the Sphere of Yun again?"

"No! It's nothing like that! It's just… I have this feeling that something terrible is about to happen. And if I am here, I fear that none of use will come out of it alive." Omi's tone was sad, and his face sorrowful. Tears were beginning to roll down his cheeks.

"You're serious about this, aren't you kid?" Dojo asked. He slithered over and climbed onto Omi's shoulder before the monk nodded. "Well then, no sense in you going alone. So, where're we headed?"

"What!? What makes you think you're coming with me?" Omi demanded.

"Because, if you don't let me, I'll have the others on your tail before you're out of the country." Dojo said. He unzipped Omi's backpack and reached in until he pulled out a bag of tortilla chips. "Besides, everyone needs a traveling companion. That is, unless you'd rather make friends with some squirrels."

"SQUIRRELS!"

Omi went racing down the trail. Dojo wrapped his tail around the backpacks strap and hung onto the tortilla chips for deer life. Omi kept on running for a few hours and didn't collapse from exhaustion until they were well into Mongolia and the sun was beginning to rise.

THE NEXT AFTERNOON

Gray clouds loomed overhead that day. No rain, just an ominous sky. The Temple seemed almost deserted. Rai, Kim, Clay, and Saya had woken up to find that Master Fung, Dojo, Omi and all of the elder monks were gone. No note, no good bye, no indication that they'd left at all. They just weren't there.

"Am I the only one who's freaked out by this?" Rai asked as he and Kim walked into the kitchen. Clay and Saya were already there searching through the fridge and cupboards. Apparently, it had been raided late last night. "The fridge's been raided, no one is here. I say we start looking for bombs.'

"This isn't the time for sarcasm, Rai." Kim scolded.

"Who's being sarcastic?"

"No arguing, you two." Saya interrupted. "We've gotta figure out what's going on here. Why would everyone just up and disappear without us?"

"Probably 'cause the were getting tired of watching those two constantly making out." Rai whispered to Kim. Kim elbowed him in the ribs.

"They've been dating for three days, give 'em a break." Kim whispered back.

"You guys really don't realize how sharp my hearing is, do ya?" Clay said from across the room. "Dang, who ever raided the food got the tortilla chips!"

Before anyone could say anything else, there was a loud bang from the direction of the vault followed by rumbling and an annoying laugh. Of all the times for Jack to go on a Wu raid, why'd it have to be now?

The four monks raced out of the kitchen and into the grounds. Sure enough, Jack stood in front of the building the housed the vault. He had a huge robot that resembled the Heylin Cyclops, only purple and silver, standing behind him, a sack of Shen Gong Wu over his shoulder, the Monkey Staff and Combo-Sickle in his right hand, and a small golden statue of a boar in the left.

"Jack, could you come back later?" Kim asked, annoyed, "We're in the middle of a crisis here!"

"I don't think so." Jack said. He tossed the boar statue into the air once before continuing. "In fact, I think I'll get rid of you once and for all!" He handed his bag, the Monkey Staff and the Combo-Sickle to his robot. He held the statue in the air, letting the evil sink into the moment, watching the tension and fear grow in the monks' faces. Now it was finally time to find out the Sleeping Boars potential. Would be an ace in the hole, or a complete dud? A bolt of lightning struck the background behind Jack before he called out the Shen Gong Wu's name. "Sleeping Boar!"

Nothing.

Jack glanced around, just waiting for something to happen. He brought the statue down so that he was looking the boar right in its closed eyes, glaring. "Ok, let's try this again. Sleeping Boar!" Still, nothing. Enraged, Jack tossed the Sleeping Boar to the ground, stomping on it a few times before saying, "Piece of junk!"

"What do ya say we settle this the old fashion way?" Clay asked.

"Agreed." Jack said. "Cy-bot, attack!"

The Cy-bot raised it huge arm above its head and threw the bag of Shen Gong Wu at the four monks. They managed to scatter just before the bag hit the ground, bursting open and sending Wu flying everywhere. Clay grabbed Goliaths' Golem from the ground and activated it. The small stone statue instantly grew to the size of a building. One of its fists formed into a mallet and it slammed it into the Cy-bots face.

"Good thinking, Clay!" Saya called. "Now let's kick Jack's ass before he gets away."

Meanwhile, Jack and Rai were already going at it with the Blade of the Nebula and the Combo-Sickle. Kim was throwing Arrow Sparrow's from the side lines, trying to knock Jack off of his feet. But somehow Jack always managed to dodge them or use them against Rai.

Jack ducked at Rai slashed at his neck. He jabbed the bladeless end of the Combo-Sickle into Rais stomach, hard. Rai stumbled back, losing his grip on his sword and falling to his knees. Kim can flying in from the side lines in a blind rage and threw a sparrow at Jacks forehead, extremely fast and at extremely close range. Jack screamed in pain and clutched his forehead. That was going to leave a mark. Jack began to slash with the Combo-Sickle wildly, eyes closed, now caring who or what he attached to who or what. Clay came in out of nowhere and knocked the Wu out of his hand with the fist of Tebigong. Jack grabbed a random Wu from the ground, registered which one it was quickly, and used it. "Tangle Web Comb!" the tentacles shot out, binding Raimundo and Clay together, back to back.

Now it was Saya's turn to get in on the action. She grabbed the Roosters Crow from the ground, shouted to everyone to cover their ears if they could, and used it. "Roosters Crow!" The screech range out from the blow horn on the rooster's chest, it sounded worst than nails on a chalk board. The sound stabbed at the brain of anyone who heard it. Jack fell to the ground, covering his ears, moaning in pain. Kim did the same. Rai and Clay, unable to cover their ears, simply bit on their ropes hard and bared it. Saya set the Roosters Crow down. She'd only meant to cripple Jack, but her friends and boyfriend had suffered as well. They'd be lucky if they didn't have permanent hearing damage. She immediately rushed over to Kimiko and helped her to her feet. Kim was defiantly a bit hard of hearing, but she could still hear if Saya yelled. The two girls limped over to Rai and Clay. After the ropes were undone and the boys were able to stand on their own feet, all four turned back to the battlefield.

The Cy-bot lay on the ground, completely destroyed by Goliaths' Golem which had reverted to its small statue form. Everywhere they looked there were Shen Gong Wu and fragments of buildings on the ground. Jack was unconscious. It reminded Saya a lot of what she's seen the Crystal Glasses last night, after she'd caught Omi looking through them in the first place. All that was missing was fire and that golden monster.

Not for long.

None of the others seemed to notice, seeing as how they were all currently hard of hearing, but Saya managed to hear a strange squealing sound. It was faint, like it was coming from through a wall, but it was getting louder and fast!

The next thing they knew, a huge golden big came crashing through the wall of one of the buildings. Was that the Sleeping Boar. Was this what it had been created for? The Boar squealed again as a jet of fire came shooting out of its mouth at the temple roof. The fire spread quickly and soon everything that was left was blazing with orange and red. The Boar turned its glowing, blood red eyes towards the group. They were all terrified. Kim was holding onto Rais arm, tight, practically cutting off the circulation. Rai just stood there, gazing at the beast in pure awe. Saya grasped Clay's hand, again, tight enough to almost cut off the circulation. Clay glared at it as if it had just murdered his entire family.

"Saya." Clay said. Saya turned to him only to find him pressing his lips to hers. The kiss was quick and a bit clumsy, but who cares… it might be their last. "Just in case I don't get to again." Clay said before letting go of her hand and stepping forward.

The Boar stamped its hoof on the ground and snorted, smoke gushing from its nostrils. It charged, squealing in rage. Clay braised himself. When it was close enough, he grabbed onto the tusks, summoning all of his strength to stop it in its tracks. "All of you get out of here!" he shouted over his shoulder. "I'll hold it off!"

"Over my dead body you will!" Rai snapped. "I'm the Shoku warrior, Clay, I give the orders!"

"I wouldn't give a damn if you were the president of the United Sates right now! Get the hell out of here before this thing runs me over!"

Rai hesitated, standing there, baring his teeth and clenching his fist. There was no way he was going to leave Clay behind. Omi was already gone, though hopefully not dead, he couldn't afford to lose another team mate… or another friend. It wasn't until Kimiko collapsed into his arms, passed out from the stress, that he decided to listen.

Rai summoned every ounce of energy that he had to fly him and Kimiko out of there. He would've taken Saya too, but she'd just up and vanished after kissing Clay. They probably didn't notice because they were to busy focusing on Clay and the Boar. He didn't have time to search for her. So, there he was. Flying away from his home, his best friend, and everything else that mattered to him other than his family in Brazil and Kimiko. But where would he go? He couldn't fly to Brazil and there was nowhere else in China that he could hide for free. Then the answer hit him. He didn't have to fly all the way to Rio de Janeiro Brazil…

Just to Tokyo Japan.

Clay didn't budge until he was sure the others were out of fare enough away that he couldn't see them. _All right, it's been a while since I've wrestled a pig this size. _He though, _hope I haven't lost my edge. _He summoned every ounce of strength he had, tightened his grip on the boar's tusks until he was bleeding under his fingernails, and literally lifted the boar over his head by its tusks. He threw it back, sending it crashing into another wall. He turned around and grabbed the Two Ton Tunic and the Mikado Arms (which jack had dropped before passing out). "All right, you ugly son of a bitch. Let's end this!"

MOUNTAINS NEAR THE TEMPLE

A portal opened on a cliff on the mountain side. Out of the purple and black vortex stepped Chase Young's hooded minion. "Master had better have a good reason fro summoning me during a battle." He said.

"Oh, I do. I do." Came Chases voice.

"Well, what is it? I need to get back before anyone gets suspicious."

They both fell silent. They just stared down at the burning temple, watching Clay and the Sleeping Boar face off. Finally, Chase managed to break the silence.

"That insect Jack Spicer did quite well. I'm amazed that he actually accomplished the task we set for him, especially since we never told him."

"I'll never forgive you for this."

"There will be nothing to be forgiven, after I retrieve the Memory Charm Bracelet and erase your memories again." Chase Argued "This plan would never have worked without you, my friend. Had you not attacked the Dragon of Wind, the other monks wouldn't have gone looking for the Chiyu Box, which would've stopped Jack Spicer from retrieving the Wu he needed. You should feel pleased."

"Trust me, the last thing I'm feeling right now is pleased, and I am anything but your friend. I'd kill you at the first chance I had, had it not been for you owning me."

"You wagered your loyalty against me and lost. You should consider it a miracle that you can even speak freely to me. What's even more amazing is that you managed to give one of the Memory Charms to Spicer against my will. You are very troublesome, but any beast can be broken, given the right incentive."

The hooded figure went into a blind rage. He shot forward and wrapped his fingers around Chases neck, slowly tightening his grip and cutting off Chases air supply. "You threatened the lives of my friends and family, you bastard! I only followed your orders because of them."

"And now that the Temple is gone, they are no longer in my line of sight. And you have earned back your freedom." Chase choked. The hooded figure lessoned his grip, stepping back from his master reluctantly. "But be warned, once you are no longer mine, you and your precious family and friend will suffer just as everyone else. I'll make sure of it."

Both went silent. The hooded figure stared into Chases dragon eyes for the longest time, seeming to contemplate how he would react. Trying to decide whether to back down, or kill. "By the way," Chase said. "You can stop with the deep voice act. There's no need to hide who you are any longer. I know it must've been hard to keep your cover at the temple and still hold the image of a man while shrouded in your cloak."

The hooded figure reached up and pulled back his hood, revealing a long main of golden blond hair and a face with death written all over it… the face of a young woman… the face of Saya. The one who the other monks had believed to be a man, unwillingly loyal to Chase Young was actually a girl and one of their closest friends. It had all worked perfectly. Saya had completely forgotten the pact she'd made with Chase after he'd retrieved the Memory Charm Bracelet, she was the perfect mole. A mole that didn't know she was a mole. She'd fallen into Chase's trance on the night that Raimundo had been injured. She attacked as if unconscious, completely unaware of who she was fighting or that she was fighting at all. The same way as when she and Omi had dueled over the temple. The unconscious version of her was just a replica, an over sized doll. An unconscious body is an easy thing to mimic with the proper magic, but conscious is nearly impossible. She'd only truly resisted when she'd willing handed the lightning charm over to Jack. She'd done her job perfectly, unaware that she was doing it at all.

But now it was over. The temple was destroyed, the team had been split up, Master Fung, Dojo and Omi were nowhere to be found. Chase had won. Now all he needed were the four Gauntlets gathered by the monks and the Oni's Jewel, the Shen Gong Wu that, combined with all five Gauntlets, would give him total power over the world in one month's time.

Saya uttered one line before disappearing back into the portal. "I'll kill you."

* * *

(a/n)a bit short, I know, but it got the job done. I can't tell you how long I've been wanting to reveal the Sleeping Boars purpose (since before I introduced it into the story). if you didn't catch on, the Sleeping Boar can be activated until it hears the Roosters Crow for obvious reasons. so yeah, Omi and Dojo are gone, Master Fung mysteriously disappeared, Rai and Kim are headed for Tokyo, Clays fate remains unknown, and (despite what I said in the last a/n) Saya was the cloaked figure. sorry for missleading you in the last a/n, but you have to admit, having a mole that doesn't know she's a mole was pretty good. so about the next chapter and beyond: I'm thinking that the next one will chronical the teams time apart. your gonna have to wait, though, I haven't even begun to plan out how the next chapter will play out. until next time; This is Ojex, shuting up. 


	15. Chapter 14: Sad Reunions

(a/n) I know, I know, I've been pumping out chapters like crazy lately. but hey, I'm getting close to ending this story and I'm a little excited. not to mention I have no writers block what to ever! now sit back, relax, and enjoy Chapter 14.

* * *

Chapter 14: Sad Reunions

Two weeks. That's hoe long it had been since Omi and Dojo had left. That's how long it had been since Raimundo had flown off with Kimiko in his arms, leaving Clay to defend the temple against the sleeping boar all by himself. That's how long it had been since Raimundo and Kimiko had shown up at Mr. Tohomiko's door, claiming that the needed a place to stay for a while. And that's how long it had been since the temple was destroyed.

When Mr. Tohomiko first saw his daughter and her team mate, who he still didn't know at the time was her boyfriend, standing at the door with none of the others, he thought they'd gotten kicked out of the temple or something. Kimiko managed to explain the situation after they were brought in and one of the maids brought all three of them a cup of hot tea. After that, they were set. Raimundo would take the guest bedroom while Kimiko returned to her old room. Originally, their plan was to stay a few days and then leave to search for their friends. However, after seeing what was happening inmost of Asia on the news, they decided to stay in Tokyo as long as they could.

What was happening in Asia was horrifying enough. It had started in mid China and was spreading north, south, and west at an alarming rate. It had already infected half of China and Mongolia along with every country in Asia and Europe and most countries in Africa west of there. Iceland and the most western countries in Africa were next on the map, but it would be a while before North and South America and Greenland were taken. This disease was spreading quickly and soon the entire world would be caught in its grasp. This was the acceptance of Chase Young as the absolute ruler. No one resisted. No one fought back. It was just the way it was. Chase was gaining power. A lot of people were moving to Japan, Australia, the Korea's, and other places around western China hoping to avoid this as long as possible.

So that was the plan. Stay in Tokyo as long as possible and try to think of a way to stop this sudden world wide Chase worship. Until then, Kim and Rai would act as casual and normal as possible. As if a Brazilian teenager that doesn't know a word of Japanese in the middle of Tokyo isn't suspicious enough.

Raimundo, Kimiko, and Mr. Tohomiko were sitting in the lounge of Tohomiko Tower, watching the news on what was happening elsewhere. Occasional glances between the TV and the teenagers told Rai and Kim that Mr. Tohomiko was a bit uncomfortable with the way they were sitting, basically Kim was sitting on Rai's lap with her head resting on his shoulder, but he refrained from saying anything due to an agreement between the three. See, when Kim had told her father about her and Rai, she'd forced him to agree not to intervene too much, at least until when and if the world was saved. So far, he'd stayed true to his word. However, he did take Rai aside one night after dinner for a private conversation, saying that if Rai ever did anything to hurt his daughter, Mr. Tohomiko would have to call up his old friend Panda Bubba.

The news was getting worse and worse every day. The fact that Kim had to translate everything to Rai didn't make it much better. Day after day more people were being evacuated from the east coast of the Americas and forced to move west. Cities were getting crowded, food was running low, no one had any idea what was happening in Africa, Europe, or most of Asia. All contact had been lost with every country in those regions. There wasn't a human left on the islands in the Caribbean Sea and around Cuba. North Eastern States in the U.S. like Main, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, along with cities like New York, Washington D.C and Rio De Janeiro were completely deserted.

Even worse was that Chase was starting to deploy demon soldiers in the areas that he hadn't conquered. Cities like Los Angeles, Mexico City, and Brasilia were completely over run by ten foot tall, skeleton thin monsters with hollow eye sockets that oozed black sludge. It wouldn't be long before Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney, and so many other major cities around the remaining world were exactly the same.

There was minimal good news, however. Apparently, there was a warrior with an Asian style dragon going around the Americas helping to free the people from the skeletal monsters. Few had actually seen his face, but reports described him as extremely fast and agile, he carried a golden sword and shield, and some claims said he was less than four feet tall. The dragon was always said to be long, serpent like, and green. Had to be Omi and Dojo.

There were also reports of a gigantic stone humanoid traveling through Australia with a young Texan man. Apparently they were just traveling around, looking for something or someone… or more than one someone. The stone humanoid was defiantly Goliath's Golem, making the Texan Clay.

There was still no clue as to where Saya was.

"If these truly are your friends, why do you not join them?" Mr. Tohomiko asked after turning off the TV.

"We would," Kim told her father, "But we can't get out of the city. Planes aren't letting people out of town, only in."

"Yeah, and there's no way I can fly all the way across the Pacific. It's just impossible, even for someone endowed with the power to control the wind like me." Rai said.

"True… true." Kim's father agreed.

Everyone went silent. The quiet didn't last long, for it was broken a after a few seconds by a knock at the door. "Mr. Tohomiko, are you in there? It's Keiko." said a voice from the other side of the door.

Kim immediately jumped to her feet, raced over to the door and pulled it open. On the other side was a girl that resembled Kimiko quite a bit. Really, the only difference was that Keiko had dyed her hair purple, leaving a stripe of black her and there, and it was tied back in a pony tail. The two girls shared a brief scream of excitement and a huge before they started talking in Japanese so fast that even Mr. Tohomiko couldn't understand them. They eventually found their way back to the couch and sat down. But as soon as Keiko saw Kim sit on Rais lap, she stopped in mid sentence and gawked.

Finally, a mischievous smile found its way onto Keiko's face. "So, I see that hot headed and impatient Kimiko has found herself a special friend." She said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Oh yeah, I forgot I haven't emailed you since it happened." Kim said.

"Finally, you're speaking English again." Rai said. "Do you know how annoying it was, having to listen to you to blabber on like you were some kind of Japanese auctioneers?"

Kim elbowed him in the ribs. "Shut it, Rai." She said. "So Keiko, what brings you here?"

"I heard you were back in town and wanted to see if it was true. I was going to ask why I haven't seen you around town, but now I see you were," she paused briefly to chuckle, "busy with someone else." She joked.

"Well, rumor confirmed. But we haven't been doing what you think we've been doing." Kim said.

Mr. Tohomiko got up from his chair and started towards the door. "Well, I'll leave you kids to catch up. I've got work to do anyway." With that, he walked out the door.

The topic of the other half of the world was forgotten as the girls got into their fast paced, though in English this time, conversations. A few times Rai found himself nodding off and eventually fell asleep. It wasn't until she was sure that Rai was somewhere in dreamland that Keiko started asking Kim more personal questions.

"So," she said, "How long've you and Rai been sleeping together?" she asked, trying very hard not to laugh.

"**WHAT!?**" Kim shouted. "We're not…"

"Oh, quite lying!" Keiko demanded. "I can see it in your eyes."

Kim bit her lower lip. "Ok, we slept in the same bed by accident after a really, really, really long and tiring day, but that's it! We're nowhere near doing **that **yet."

"Sure Kim. Whatever you say." Keiko giggled. Then she decided to change the subject. "So why're you guys back in Tokyo anyway? And where're those other two guys and that girl you told me about? Omi, Clay, and Saya." Kim went into the story. How Omi, Master Fung, Dojo, and Saya had just disappeared and how Clay had stayed behind so she and Rai could get away, the whole shebang. Keiko had tears in her eyes by the end.

Before they could say another word after Kim had finished, her father came bursting through the door again. Rai woke up and bolted to his feet, resulting in Kim falling to the floor with a loud thud. "Kids, get down to the lobby, now!" was all Mr. Tohomiko said before racing down the hallway again.

THE LOBBY

He was unconscious. His nose had been bleeding, resulting in a thin layer of dried blood caked over his mustache. His sash was gone and most of his clothes were ripped to shreds. Everyone was pretty sure that one of his arms was broken and the other had been dislocated. He was practically dead. How he got to the door step of Tohomiko Tower was a complete mystery to everyone.

He was Master Fung.

The hospital had been called immediately and he'd been put into intensive care. Raimundo and Kimiko were sitting next to his bed in complete silence. The only sound in the room was the beeping of monitors and the small gust of wind coming from the window. So many questions were running through their heads. Where was Master Fung when the temple was destroyed? How'd he get the Tokyo? Who did this to him? And what kind of punishment was in store for the bastard that had done it.

Kim was trying hard not to sob. Rai was trying just as hard not to storm out of the room in a blind rage. Both of them loved the old man like a grandfather. Seeing him like this was one thing they never wanted to see again, not after the last time he'd been injured. They remembered what he looked like back them: casts all over his body, sitting in a wheel chair, talking though Kim's computer by typing with chopsticks. He was ten times worse now. There were few casts to hide the bruises and cuts. Whoever had done this had taken extra care to give him a lot of minor injuries. His broken arm was in a cast and the other in a sling, but that was it. Everything that wasn't covered by those of the hospital gown was in perfect view for anyone in the room to see.

"It figures." Kim mumbled. "We're finally reunited with someone from the temple after two weeks and he's half dead." She was beginning to sob. "Master Fung doesn't deserve this. He's never done anything but good for the world."

"I know, Kim." Rai said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "And if I know Fung, he was probably defending someone when this happened."

"No." Kim said. "If he were defending someone, he would've fought back. If he would've fought back, this wouldn't have happened. He was attacked, caught off guard by someone… or something."

Rai nodded before looking back at the old man on the bed. Kim was right. Some crafty warrior or beast had attacked Master Fung out of the blue. It would've taken an army of heavily armed military soldiers to do this to him should he have defended himself. Master Fung was strong, and he knew it. "C'mon, Kim." Rai said. "Let's head back to your dads place. We'll check in on him again tomorrow."

They both took one last look at their sensei before flicking off the lights and closing the door behind them. It was dark and silent for a few short minutes. Pure peace in the aftermath of a disaster. But the quiet didn't last long as it was broken by the quiet creaking of the window followed by the soft padding of shoes as they hit the tiled floor.

The boy sheathed his sword and replaced the shield on the straps on his back. He took a few steps forward as a small serpent-like beast slithered onto his shoulder. The boy took one look at Fung and nodded to the dragon on his shoulder. "I believe it is time to reunite the team." Omi said.

"Right, kid." Dojo said. "Tomorrow then?"

Omi shook his head. "Tonight. We need as much time as we can get. "

AUSTRALIA

Saya was on the run. Running from Chase. Running to where she hoped she would find the only person she wanted to see right then. Running to Clay. Running to Australia.

Actually, she was already in Australia. Sydney, to be exact. Chase had given her exactly twenty-four hours of freedom after her last mission. She was down right defiant at first; Chase had no control over her mind and what she said, which was a miracle in itself. But Chase had complete control over her body and actions. The mission he'd forced her to do wasn't just to get someone out of the way, but to emotionally wound the girl. That mission was to find, beat the tar out of, and leave a certain someone on the door step of Tohomiko Tower. Master Fung.

He'd given her twenty-four hours of freedom for a satisfactory job. She was going to use those twenty-four hours to the best of her abilities. Get the message to Clay, tell him to reunite with the others; tell him the truth about why she'd disappeared after that kiss and try to apologize for everything.

Sydney was defiantly the place that she'd find him. There had been reports of a young man wearing a cowboy hat traveling around with a large creature that resembled the Goliath's Golem down to every mentioned detail. Shouldn't be too hard to find a twenty foot tall stone giant, right? Well, that's what they said about Godzilla until they realized how big Tokyo was.

As unmistakable as Goliath was, Sydney was way to big to just turn around and they'd be there.

Saya was searching through her head, trying to think of a way to find her boyfriend. It wasn't as simple as just show up in the same town and you'll just randomly find each other on the street. One needed to search while the other needed to be found. Or one needed to bring the other to them.

_Now there's an idea, _Saya thought.

Taking a quick look around to make sure no one was watching, she dug into her pocket and pulled out the Glove of Jisaku, another Wu that Jack had dropped at the temple. She slipped the glove onto her hand and whispered its name.

The next thing she knew, an all too familiar hat was gliding toward the glove with Clay chasing after it. He actually looked quite different. He was starting to grow a mustache and a thin goatee after two weeks without shaving. And instead of his usual casual wear, he wore the Two Ton Tunic. The big change, however, was the large purple bruise over his eye and his arm was in a sling. Despite all these changes, he was still the same unmistakable Clay. The Kung Fu Cowboy.

Saya grabbed the hat out of the air before she shoved the Glove of Jisaku back in her pocket. Clay stopped a few feet away, staring at Saya as if he'd forgotten who she was. _God, I hope he didn't! _Saya mentally pleaded.

Finally, he spoke. "Saya?" he asked.

"Took you long enough." Saya giggled.

One moment, they were just standing there, staring at each other in silence, the next, they were locked in each others embrace. Saya had her arms wrapped tightly around his waist while Clay had his good arm around her shoulders. They just stood there, hugging, Saya was sobbing and Clay wasn't bothering to hold back his own tears. "I thought I'd never see you again." Clay said.

"Shut up." Saya managed through her sobs. "You'll ruin the moment."

No more than fifteen minutes later, the two were sitting at a table in a small restaurant. Two steaming mugs of coffee sat untouched in front of them. They were just talking; Clay was telling his story about how he'd defeated the Sleeping Boar at the moment. Saya was still trying to work up the courage to bring up the subject she'd wanted to in the first place. Not an easy feat, considering what that subject was.

"So Saya, what're you doing in Australia anyway?" Clay asked. "I thought you'd be with Raimundo and Kimiko, where ever they are."

She sighed. _Now or never, I guess._ She told herself. "Clay, there's something I need to tell you."

"You know you can tell me anything, Saya." Clay said, placing his hand over hers. "I wouldn't think any less of you if you were Chase Young's daughter or something." he chuckled.

_Close enough. _Saya thought.

"You disappoint me, Saya."

The voice had come from the table behind her. Clay leaned over to look over Saya's shoulder and she turned around. There he sat, sipping coffee as if her were just another civilian. But that main of black hair, those piercing yellow dragon eyes, and that dragon leather armor marked him as anything but another common man. "I give you twenty-four hours of freedom and you betray me like this." Chase said, not even bothering to turn around.

"What's going on here?" Clay demanded. "What's he talking about?"

"You mean you never figured it out?" Chase asked, now standing up with his hand on Saya's shoulder. "Why do you think Saya wasn't around when my minion challenged Omi for the temple? Why do you think it she didn't awaken when the Dragons of Wind and Fire did when young Raimundo was crippled? And, above all, why did she show up out of the blue just before this all started?" Clay was at a loss for words, completely dumbfounded at Chase's observations. "I'll tell you why!" Chase snapped. With a snap of his fingers, Saya vanished in a cloud of black smoke and was replaced by that cloaked figure. Chased grabbed onto the hood and literally ripped off the cloak, revealing a now sobbing Saya, covering her face, red and puffy from crying. "Because she works for me!"

"That's the biggest load of bull shit I've heard in a long time!" Clay growled, clenching his good hand into a fist.

"Oh, is it?" Chase asked. "Tell him Saya. Tell your beloved Clay of the memories you regained after looking through the Crystal Glasses."

Saya removed her hands from her face and looked Clay in the eyes. "He's right, Clay" she sobbed. "I was the one who hit Rai with the Hitsuji Hammer. I dueled Omi for the temple. The unconscious me was just a magic duplicate. And I only returned to the Temple when I did on his order. You have to understand though! He had complete control over me! I never…" she was cut off at the sound of an open hand smacking against her face.

"Silence, minion." Chase said.

"**YOU SON OF A BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU!" **Clay shouted, now standing with Goliath's Golem in his good hand.

"No time for that, young monk." Chase said, grabbing onto Saya's arm and pulling her to her feet. "I've still got half a world to conquer. You'll be joining my legions of worshipers soon enough."

With that, he and his captive began to disappear in the same black smoke that had given Saya her Cloak. Saya managed to get one last plea in before vanishing completely. "Clay, the others are in Tokyo!" she shouted. "Go there, reunite with them! Find where Chase is keeping the Gauntlets! Destroy the Oni's Jewel!"

* * *

(a/n) ok, let me clarify one thing. for those of you who are wondering, the Oni's Jewel is another Shen Gong Wu of mine. Chase got is some time before the end of Ch 13 and its the key to his entire plan along with the Gauntlets. now then, what to say to get you all more excited about the next chapter? oh, I know! 4, count them, 4 chapters to go, people! just a few left until the climax and then an epilogue. I hope you're all as excited for the end as I am. also, I may or may not add a fifth document after the epilogue. not another chapter, just a small and subtle preview of the sequel I'm planing. so you'll just have to wait and see. and now I'm off to take a break. I'll begin chapter 15 on saturday. 


	16. Another Authors Note

Sorry about this, but I felt it only fare to tell you guys. You see, since I'm getting pretty close to ending this story, I've decided to get started on my next project: The Legend of Zelda: Sages sword.

Just felt like telling you guys this so that if you get tired of waiting for a chapter of this story or something, just remember that I've got 2 (technically 4 if you count non-writing stuff) projects going at the same time and I'm working on both on and off.

Also, don't expect to see chapter 15 this weekend. I won't have access to a computer after Thursday until Monday. So maybe next Wednesday or Thursday.

Until next time… I can't think of anything funny right now… see ya.


	17. Chapter 15: The Phoenix Emblem

(a/n) Sorry it took me longer than I said to get this chapter up. I had an idea for a video project that I had to get done (which I did) before I could finish shapter 15. I also (thanks to spare time in my typing class) managed to get another chapter of my Zelda story up, so that's also partially to blame. but, I did manage to finish it finally and I'm proud to say that I will not be starting any more projects(or chapters of my Zelda story) until this story is finished. so, I'll stop babling now so you guys can start reading chapter 15.

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Chapter 15: The Phoenix Emblem

Kim and Ria had returned to Kim's house and had already gotten ready to go to bed for the night. They both figured a good night's sleep would do them a little good in light of what had happened earlier that day.

They were now sitting in Kimiko's room watching an old Godzilla movie. Despite her rich background, Kim's room was surprisingly normal. It wasn't any larger than Raimundo's bedroom back in Rio de Janeiro, the walls and ceiling were painted egg shell white and the carpet was a light brown color. There was a computer on a desk in the corner with a book shelf right next to it, a dresser next to the bed, and a window on the other side of the bed and a door next to the TV. The only thing in the room that really said "rich" was the big, flat screen plasma TV set into the wall

They were watching the movie in silence, just lying next to each other on the bed. On the screen, Godzilla was rising from the ocean depths and the civilians of Tokyo were panicking. There was a close up of some random guy turning around and pointing as he shouted, "Oh no! It's Godzilla!"

Ria chuckled at the line, the only one from any Godzilla movie that he, or anyone on this planet for that matter, knew by heart. "I don't see why you laugh every time someone says something in this movie." Kim said.

"It's because these guys are terrible at English." Rai said. "I mean, you sound like you were born and raised on the language, and you're Japanese too. Compared to you, these guys are just speaking gibberish. And to me, that's funny."

"Oooook." Kim said. "I'll hire some scientist tomorrow and see if they can make since of that."

There was a knock at the door. Without even waiting for his daughter to answer, Mr. Tohomiko opened the door and poked his head in. "Kimiko, Raimundo, there is someone here to see you." He said.

"Tell Keiko to come tomorrow." Kim said. "It's to late right now."

"It's not Keiko." Mr. Tohomiko said. He opened the door further and stepped aside for a young man to step in. He was short, bald, and literally big headed. Everything that the two on the bed needed to recognize him immediately.

"Omi!"

Kimiko jumped off of her bed, dropped to her knees in front of the little monk and drew him into a tight bear hug. Rai threw his legs over the side of the bed, but just sat there, staring at Omi. He looked completely different, but was still recognizable. First there was the clothes. The fact that he wasn't wearing his temple robes was odd enough, but a tattered black hoody with no sleeves and a pair of ripped up gray sweat pants, that was just way to different. He also had a golden sword and an oddly shaped bronze shield strapped to his back. The other facts were more subtle, but made even more of a difference if noticed. Omi had multitudes of scars running up his right arms, much like what Saya had on her left arm. From the looks of it, claws and fangs, not metal blades or anything. Then there was that he looked slightly taller, but not by much. But most surprising by far was that Omi had facial hair! It was just a thin five-o-clock shadow, but still, Omi had facial hair!

Rai shook his head, snapping out of his trance. He stood up and walked over to Omi and Kimiko, who was still hugging the little monk. On his way he noticed that Mr. Tohomiko must've left the room within the past five seconds. "Omi, where've you been dude? And when did you start needing to shave?"

"It is a long and interesting story." Omi said, after pulling away from Kimiko. "And what is growing on my face is unimportant. What is important is that Master Fung is in the hospital and we need to take down Chase Young as soon as possible. And by "we" I mean all five of us. You two, me, Clay, and Saya together."

"But Omi, we have no idea where Saya is." Kimiko protested. "And we're only guessing that Clay is in Australia ."

"I know." Omi said. "I've sent Dojo to Australia to see if Clay is there. If Clay has any Shen Gong Wu with him, he and Dojo should be here before dawn."

"Ok, so, except for Saya, we'll be able to get the team back together by tomorrow." Raimundo stated. "But how're we supposed to take down Chase Young. Kim and I have absolutely no Shen Gong Wu, for all we know Chase could have an army at his command, half the freaking world worships him, and…"

"He's got one of us on his side."

The voice had come from the window. Dojo was hovering just outside with Clay sitting on his back. Immediately, Rai noticed that Clay, too, had a thin beard and mustache. _Oh, great! Am I the only guy on the team that can't grow a beard?_ He mentally shouted, chuckling at his own thoughts. the only other things that he noticed at first glance was that he was wearing the Two Ton Tunic and had one arm in a sling. "So, you were in Australia ."

"Yeah." Dojo said, "Hard to miss him with Goliath's Golem and all."

Clay nodded emotionlessly after jumping through the window, landing a yard or two away from the others. "I couldn't stop the Sleeping Boar from destroying half the temple before it reverted back to a statue, but I managed. I needed to get far away afterwards, so I took Goliath's Golem and the Golden Tiger Claws (I left them behind just in case) and headed to Sydney. Been looking for you guys ever since."

The others nodded, taking in their friends' story as if it were just something in a newspaper. "What did you mean by, 'He's got one of us on his side,' Clay?" Omi finally asked.

Clay pulled his hat down to cover his eyes, not wanting the others to notice them starting to water. "I found Saya over in Sydney." He began. "We were together for all of an hour, maybe two. She was going to tell me something when Chase came and took her away." he was doing his best to keep his face straight, but not doing too well. "She managed to admit that she… she bet her loyalty to him and lost over a year ago. She's been his mole since day one."

Everyone had a different reaction. Kim gasped and covered her mouth with her hand in disbelief; Rai glared at Clay, trying to keep his emotions hidden; Omi went ballistic, claiming that Clay was a liar and that he was only saying that because he was the mole.

"I'm not lyin', Omi. Saya is working for Chase, but not willingly." Clay said calmly, even though every cell in his brain was screaming at him to hall off and break Omi's jaw.

"Prove it!" Omi demanded.

"You think I'd lie about something like this!" Clay snapped. He grabbed Omi by the shoulder, swung him around and pinned him against the wall. "Let's get something straight, you little midget! I'd never say anything like that about your sister had I not heard it from her myself, god damn it! And I'd rip my own heart out before I went to work for Chase!" He stopped, pulling his hand back, letting Omi drop to the floor. "I know this is hard for you to believe, Omi." he said calmly, "She's your only family and you would never believe that she'd betray you like that. It was hard for me to believe at first, too. But I heard her say it myself. She wasn't joking."

Everyone fell silent, not wanting to continue "discussing" the current topic. Kimiko made a quick call on her cell-phone to a couple maids to prepare two rooms for Omi and Clay.

The rest of the night was rather quiet. Omi wouldn't look Clay in the eyes, much less talk to him and Clay seemed fine with it, probably having other things on his mind. Kimiko tried to get a conversation going later on, but eventually gave up and shooed the boys and Dojo out of her room so she could go to sleep. Clay and Omi silently retired to their own rooms the second they were out the door. Rai glanced between his two friends and back to Kimiko's bedroom door, and then sighed. "Am I the only level headed one left?" He asked.

"Probably." Dojo yawned.

Rai shrugged and headed to his room, right across the hall.

THE NEXT DAY

The next day the team started planning. Clay and Omi were back on speaking terms by then, but were still a bit mad at each other. Rai, Kim and Dojo were neutral on the whole matter of Saya. They only wanted to stop Chase. Only one problem with that: they had no idea how to do that.

"Before Chase took 'er," Clay said, "Saya said something about destroying something called the Oni's Jewel. Is that some sort of Shen Gong Wu, Dojo?"

"I think it might be. Let me check." Dojo said as he pulled that Shen Gong Wu scroll out from off screen.

"You actually brought that with you?" Kim asked.

"Yeah. A couple Wu activated in the Americas while Omi and I were over there and we went and got them." Dojo explained, indicating the golden sword and shield that Omi had. The sword, the guard was designed to look like a horses head, was Mushas Sword. With it, the wielder could summon an ancient war spirit that would fight along side him to the end. It was one of Dashi's favorites. The shield, which was in the shape of an ox's head, was Bengoshas shield. It, like Mushas sword, had the ability to summon an ancient spirit when activated. However, this spirit was more of a guardian demon that held a huge shield. The shield had a bear's face that could blast fire, ice and (literally) take a bit out of ones enemies. "Anyway," the dragon continued, "Let's see what the Oni's Jewel does." It didn't take long for him to find it. "Ah, here it is. The Oni's Jewel. When activated, it sends an extremely depressing feeling throughout the surrounding area, affecting everyone but the holder. Of all the three times it's ever been activated (all three by Wuya, I might add) the depressing was bad enough for a few people to commit suicide." He paused, letting this disturbing knowledge sink into everyone's minds. "But that's not all. This never actually happened, but Grand Master Dashi said that if it was every combined with all five of the Gauntlets on a special pedestal that he gave to Chase Young, a curse would spread over the earth and completely cover it within one months time. And everyone one on the planet would pretty much treat the holder of the Jewel like a god."

"Well, that explains why more than half the world is worshiping Chase right now." Rai said. "So, all we have to do is break into his cave, smash some stuff, and we've saved the world once again. This seems too easy."

"That would be too easy." Omi said. "Chase is smart. He wouldn't just leave something that precious where we could easily get to it. He'd keep it where he'd be affected by its power before we could get to it. But that means it could be anywhere between China and the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean."

"So, we've got two things to figure out." Kim broke in. "We need to find the Oni's Jewel and figure out a way to get to it without turning into a Chase worshiping Zombie."

"There actually is a way to do that." Dojo said. He went through the scroll until he found a page with a picture of a small object in the shape of a birds head. "It's called the Phoenix Emblem. Whoever wears is completely immune to the effects of the Oni's Jewel, no matter how it's being used."

"So, first we need to find the Phoenix Emblem." Omi said. "Then one of is going into Chase territory to try to find his new lair. Then who ever dos that needs to destroy the Oni's Jewel so the rest of us can bust in, as Raimundo would put it, 'send Chase packing,' find Saya, and get out."

Everyone looked at Omi a bit surprised. Rai was literally staring at his wide eyed with his jaw hanging open slightly. "Did Omi just use a slang term correctly?" he asked.

"Yes, I know, it's a freaking miracle!" Omi groaned sarcastically. "But could we please worry about the matter at hand and save the sarcasm for after we save the world? 'Cause I don't know about you, but I've already been under Chases power once and I don't plan on going back there again!"

"For once, I've got to agree with Omi instead of you, Rai." Kim said. "This is serious."

"So Dojo, do you think you can take us to the Phoenix Emblem?" Clay asked.

"Nope, not gunna happen." Dojo announced, crossing his arms and shaking his head. "At least not until…" He stopped as he got that weird look in his eye. The Dragons body started to shiver as he glanced around trying to figure out something. "Talk about your good timing. Hop on kids, we're headed for Brazil."

AMAZON JUNGLE

"You know, I've lived in Brazil for most of my life and I've never actually been here." Ria said. He, the rest of the team, and dojo were trekking through a dense jungle trying to make heads or tails of where they were. Dojo could get the emblems signal easy enough, but the jungle was so thick that they lost track of where they were every five minutes and Dojo had to re direct them. And to make things worse, Omi was pretty sure they were being followed.

"As interesting as that is, Rai," Kim replied, "We don't have time for your life story. We need to find the Phoenix Emblem as quickly as possible."

"Hey, why don't you both shut up so I can concentrate?" Dojo broke in. he went on mumbling under his breath. "Gees, we're trying to save the freakin' planet and I can't get five minutes of quiet to concentrate." Dojo started to glance around again, trying to find the signal. "All right guys, keep heading in the direction you're going. It should be a few yards ahead."

"Finally!" Clay said. "If I have to spend more than five more minutes pushing my way through these weeds I'm gunna go crazy."

A few minutes later, the group found themselves in a small clearing. It was a small circle, about ten yards in diameter, of grass, surrounded by trees and other plants, with a single rock in the exact center. Sunlight was beaming down through the canopy, making a spotlight on the rock. Upon closer inspection, they noticed that there was a small piece of metal, probably gold or bronze, sitting on it. Rai shook his head and chuckled. _Why didn't he just put up a sign that said "It's right here, idiots,"? _he thought.

Omi was the first to start towards the center. "Careful, kid." Dojo said. "This seems too easy."

"Relax, Dojo." Omi replied. He reached out and grabbed the metal from the rock. It was a small pin in the shape of a strange birds head. The beak and the center of the head were made of gold while the outer parts of the head were made of bronze with small etchings for the eyes. Omi turned around and held the Phoenix Emblem out to his friends. "See, absolutely nothing… went…" he gulped, "…wrong…"

"What's wrong, Omi?" Kim asked.

"Yeah, you look like you've seen a ghost or somethin'." Clay said.

"No, not a ghost. Just a tall, hunched over, black skeletal figure that's about to **RIP YOUR HEADS OFF!!!**"

The others dove aside as the monsters claw came crashing down. Omi pulled out Mushas Sword and Bengoshas Shield and called out their names. A gust of wind blew through the clearing as two figures began to appear. The first was a tall samurai warrior, complete with the traditional armor and not two, but three katana swords and a copper face mask. The second looked like a traditional English knight, only he wore black armor, his back was hunched over, and he was mush larger at the shoulders than any man alive today. He also held a shield that could easily block his whole body that had a bears face carved into it.

The monster stretched out on arm, aiming for the samurai. Its five boney fingers shot out lightning fast, ready to stab through anything it their way. The samurai drew its first sword, raised it high, and slammed it down just in time to slice through the monsters fingers. The monster drew its fingers back and took one look at them, now only halve of what they once were, before proceeding to attack the guard.

On the sidelines, the gang watched as the battle raged on. "Man, why does Omi always get the cool Shen Gong Wu?" Clay asked sarcastically. As he did this, the monster was rushing at the guard, barely managing to jump over it as its shield blasted a jet of fire out of its mouth.

Ignoring Clay's question, Omi started to explain exactly what the monster was. It was apparently one of the monsters that had been on the news lately. These things worked for Chase Young and thanks to that had nearly unlimited power. They've been known to come in nearly every shape and size. Everything from humanoids to indescribably creatures, some could even shape shift. The biggest one Omi (and the spirits of his Wu) had ever fought had been a three eyed dragon up in Montreal. Apparently "hell fire," as he called it, burned a lot worse than regular fire.

Back in the fight, the monster had shifted one of its forearms into a sword and was dueling with the samurai while the guard had disappeared after taking a severe blow to the head. Omi seemed to know hat would happen next and grabbed the handle of his sword. The next second, the monster made a clean sweep with its leg, knocked the samurai onto its back, took its blade arm and stabbed through the eye hole on its mask. Omi reacted immediately by leaping forward and stabbing Mushas Sword into its side. The others followed his lead: Raimundo used the Ruby of Ramses, which Clay had brought with him from the temple, to lift a tree from the ground and slam it into its back; Kim used the Tongue of Saiping (again, Clay brought it) to summon a leopard and had it attack; and Clay used the fist of Tebigong, leaping at it and smashing its face. After Kim's leopard had successfully (but not literally) ripped it in half and Omi had reduced most of it to Swiss cheese, it was still standing by some stroke of luck. They all looked at each other quickly and they all thought the exact same thing. _Orian._

They all moved into the required formation, with Clay and Rai on the sides, Omi in the center, and Kim balancing upside down on Omi's hands, then the called out, "Wudai Orian formation!" immediately their bodies went pitch black and they each had an aura of a different color for their eyes, mouth, and outline. Rai grabbed Kims hand and leaped into the air. "Wudai Star, Wind!" he started to spine around rapidly until a tornado formed. As he spun, Kimiko curled into a ball and called out, "Wudai Mars, Fire!" Rai let go of the fire ball that Kim had become, launching her directly at it. Omi positioned himself just behind the monster, "Wudai Neptune, Water!" just as Kimiko slammed into it, knocking it backwards, a geyser sprouted up behind Omi and launched it into the air. As soon as it stopped moving up and started descending back down to earth, Clay dove down and slammed his elbow into the ground, "Wudai Crater, Earth!" A fissure opened up from where his elbow had made contacted. The monster fell into the fissure, silently as it had appeared and the fissure closed after had vanished into the darkness.

Everyone reverted back to their normal forms and stared at the barely visible crack in the earth where the monster was. Dojo eventually reappeared, clapping his claws together. "Great show, guys. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that that fight was part of a movie or something. Or at least it was a well described battle in a book." The dragon slithered onto Omi's shoulder and took the Phoenix Emblem from his pocket. "Now let's get headed for China. Which reminds me, whish of you is going into the danger zone anyway?"

Omi, Rai, and Kim glanced at each other cluelessly. They really hadn't had a chance to discuss it yet. Clay, on the other hand, stepped forward right away and took the Phoenix Emblem from Dojo. "I'm goin'." He'd returned to his sulky attitude from yesterday, which meant to the others that one of two things were on his mind. Rescuing Saya or he hadn't eaten in more than twenty four hours. "I've got a bone to break with that bastard Chase anyway."

* * *

(a/n) so, now the gang has the Phoenix Emblem and Clay is going to the "danger zone" to destroy the Oni's Jewel.I expect speculations from you guys, cuz the climax is coming up and I'm planning a special ending. also, we've figured out Chases plan, but Hannibals is still a bit shrouded. any guesses on what that might be? don't expect to see Jack or Wuya again, though (except maybe in the epologue). they were never very important to the story. though I do have plans for Wuya in the sequal. so, now I'll leave you guys to specualte what will happen between now and the ended. I'd love to hear your ideas. see ya (hopefully) soon.


	18. Chapter 16: The Oni's Jewel

(a/n) didn't take me long to write this one. that's because, for one, I've had this chapter planned out for a while. and for two, it was fun to write. not much to say right no, so I'll shut up so that you can enjoy chapter 16.

* * *

Chapter 16: The Oni's Jewel

She sat by the window, staring out at the depressing scene beyond it. The temple she was in sat high atop a mountain somewhere in China. Above that, the clouds had turned blood red. And below, an equally red fog covered the ground. People in cities and villages were miserable. Or at least they should've been. Everyone that was old enough was being forced into labor, being paid so little that it could've been considered slave labor. But they didn't care. As long as they pleased their all mighty ruler they were happy. If Chase Young was happy, they were happy.

She looked down at her clothes. The Xiaolin robes she'd once worn proudly were gone. Now all she had was the plain brown cloak that covered her from ankle to shoulder, a pair of leather gloves and boots, and the hood attached to the cloak that hid her face. She was rarely seen without the hood anymore. She always wore it in front of Chase, whether he thought of it as a sign of respect or simply to hide herself from him, she didn't care.

She turned her head to look at her weapon. The all powerful Hitsuji Hammer. A golden ram's skull with bronze horns twisted into the shape of a double sided hammer on a stick. It was the weapon that Chase had chosen for her, as his loyal minion, to use. She remembered the Wudai weapon that she'd set out to find all those years ago. If it weren't for that she might not be in this mess right now. Then again, Chase would've probably thought of a way to get to her anyway. She thought of the Plasma Scepter. For all she knew it could be sitting under a demolished Temple wall snapped in half. And if it wasn't, she doubted she'd ever be able to use it again anyway.

She looked back out the window and began to think of how this was all her fault. If it weren't for her, Chase wouldn't have been able to force Omi to activate the Sapphire Gauntlet and if it weren't for that Chase would never have been able to gather them all. If it weren't for her activating the Roosters Crow the temple might still be standing. If it weren't for here, her friends might've been able to prevent any of this from starting in the first place.

"If I ever get a chance to make this right, I'll take it." She breathed.

"But you never will get a chance to make things right, Saya."

At the sound of her masters voice, Saya reached back to pull her hood up. "Leave it," Chase ordered. Her hands reluctantly moved back down to her lap. She cursed him quietly before he continued speaking. "I do not see why you insist on hiding your face from me." Chase continued as he sat down next to her. "I can tell without looking at you that you hate me beyond reason."

"Hate doesn't begin to describe it." Saya groaned, not bothering to quiet herself this time.

"I see. So it is safe to say that you can speak to Chase Young freely." Chase said.

"You all ready…" she paused. "Wait, did you just refer to yourself in the third person?"

"Why, no, my dear." Chase stood back up and reached both hands behind his back. He brought his arms back in front of his quickly and slammed the two halves of a golden shield together. "Moby Morpher!" In a flash of golden light, Chase young was replaced by a small red creature no bigger than a bean.

Hannibal landed on Saya's shoulder. "What would you say, little lady, if I told you that you could never have to work for Chase again?" he asked. Saya shivered at the sound of his voice. "What if I told you that I could make that entire deal disappear? All of this wouldn't be your fault. Chase wouldn't even have an idea that you existed. I can make all the pain disappear. Whaddo ya say?"

Saya thought about it long and hard. True, making a deal with Hannibal Bean might be able to do what he says. But she'd already made one deal with the devil. What's the point in making another? There'd been dire consequences to Chase; surely there'd be worse ones to Hannibal. Still, voice of reason was being blocked out by her want to just forget it all. She'd do anything to just make everything right again.

"I… I… I'll do it."

"Excellent." Hannibal said, rubbing his tentacle arms together. "And all I want in return is for you to work for me. Not your loyalty, just a job. You'll be paid handsomely and you're free to quit any time. Do we have a deal?"

"Anything." Saya groaned. "Just do it."

"All right then." Hannibal reached behind him again and pulled out a small golden bracelet. He held it in the air, "Memory Charm Bracelet!" he called out, whipping both Chases mind clean of Saya and Saya's mind clean of Chase.

Hannibal had kept his end of the bargain, but he'd also taken more. Saya not only forgot about Chase, but she pretty much forgot everything. The Temple, Clay, Omi, Kimiko, Raimundo, Dojo, Master Fung, she'd lost the good memories along with the bad. Hannibal had also replaced those memories with some of his own creation. As far as Saya knew now, she'd worked for Hannibal as long as she could remember loyally and obediently of her own free will. And she had no plans to stop any time soon.

"Now that that's over with, I think I'll sit back and enjoy the show. Saya, your new job is simple. Seek out and capture Chase Young and then take me to the chamber where he keeps the Oni's Jewel. I feel like ruling the world for an eternity or two."

SOMEWHERE IN CHINA

Clay stood at the base of a mountain, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to do. It hadn't taken him long to figure out where Chase was. All he had to do was blend in, keep the Phoenix Emblem hidden, and ask some of the people that weren't being forced into slave labor where he could find "The All Mighty Master Young." People though it was strange that someone was it was strange that one of them didn't know where Chase lives, some even seemed suspicious about it. But, Clay managed to get to where he needed to be without so much as holding up a fist.

And now he stood at the base of Chase's mountain. In the temple at the top were the three things he'd come there for: The Oni's Jewel was his first priority. If he destroyed it then the others could make it there and get him out; then there was Saya, who he planned to rescue before he went on to his third task; if he had time, he planned to snap Chase in half for all that he's done.

"Look out, Chase. The Xiaolin Monks are back with a vengeance." Clay said before starting up the stairs.

Fifteen minutes later Clay reached the peak. He didn't care that his legs were throbbing in pain from climbing all those stairs. Determination and pride commanded him to continue.

Before he could take another step, two panthers jumped out of nowhere. Guards, no doubt. From the look in their eyes, they wanted to rip his throat out, but Clay wasn't going to give them a chance. He grabbed the first panther by its neck, swung around, and slammed it against the second, sending them both flying off the side of the mountain. Without so much as blinking, he turned around and started into the temple.

The inside was much like a mixture of a classic Greek temple and an old English throne room. It was made mostly of marble with massive pillars for support, green and black banners and flags hung everywhere. On each banner or flag was a black, five pointed star with a smaller, upside down green star on its inside. Chases new symbol, no doubt. Clay grabbed one of the flags from the wall and shoved it in his pocket. He figured he might as well strangle him with his own insignia if he got the chance.

Clay continued on until he came to the end of hall. Here it split into three different paths. From the shouting coming from the center hall, that one led to Chase's thrown room. So that one was out of the question… for now. From the hall on his right, screams and shouting rang. A torture chamber, he guessed. That just left the hall to the left, which was completely silent.

As he guessed, at the end of the hall was a single marble door. There was a message etched into the door. "_Those who enter are doomed to pure hell._" Clay chuckled at the warning. He pulled out the fist of Tebigong and smashed the words with it, leaving a big crack in the door with a thundering bang. "Hell's worth it to see your sorry ass sent back to where it came from." Clay muttered darkly before punching the door again, shattering it completely this time.

As shards and clumbs of marble fell to the ground, Clays jaw dropped. The room was completely bare except for a single stone pedestal in the center. The pedestal split into four a four pointed star with the Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, and Diamond Gauntlets on each corner. In the center was what he guessed the Amethyst Gauntlet, since it was purple. There was a faint black glow coming from the top of the Amethyst Gauntlet, which probably meant that the Oni's Jewel was sitting inside of it. But Clay had expected all of this. What had really caught him off guard was Saya standing over the pedestal. She was wearing the same cloak as the guy who had dueled Omi, she held the Hitsuji Hammer in one hand, and Hannibal Bean was sitting on her shoulder. "Saya!"

Saya turned to look at him. Her face was completely emotionless. It looked like she didn't even recognize him, and guess what, she didn't. "How do you know my name?" she asked.

"Forget him!" Hannibal ordered. "You have a job to do, remember."

"Yes master!" Saya snapped back to her mission and held out her free hand over the Amethyst Gauntlet so that Hannibal could jump from her hand into the aura of the Oni's Jewel.

"Wait, what's going on here?" Clay demanded. "I thought you worked for Chase, Saya!"

"What're you talking about?" Saya asked, forgetting Hannibal again and turning back to Clay. "I've served Master Bean my entire life. I'd never work for Chase if my own life depended on it. And I'll ask you again, how do you know my name?"

"Saya!" Hannibal snapped.

"You mean you don't remember any of it?" Clay asked. "You don't remember losing your loyalty to Chase; being his mole at the temple; the look on Omi's face when he found out he had a sister; me? You don't even remember me, your boyfriend?"

"Enough!" Hannibal slammed the two halves of the Moby Morpher together and grew six feet tall. "I will not be deigned my right as ruler of this world! Saya, if you insist on talking to this hoodlum, then I will eliminate the distraction! Moby Morpher!" Hannibal's tentacle shifted into a cannon and he blasted a cannon ball directly at Clay. Clay braced himself and activated the Two Ton Tunic. But the impact of the cannon ball still managed to knock him half way back down the hall. Hannibal turned back to Saya as his arm morphed back to its usual for and he held out the Memory Charm Bracelet with the other. "This never happened." He muttered.

The Bracelet began to glow, but not because Hannibal had activated it. By some amazing feet, Clay had already run back into the room latched onto the Bracelet at the same time as Hannibal. "Hannibal Bean, I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown!"

Hannibal gritted his teeth and pulled the Bracelet toward him a bit. "As annoying as it is, I guess I have no choice, now do I? Very well. My Moby Morpher against your Two Ton Tunic."

"The game is…" Clay paused and started to think. He really couldn't think of any good challenges with everything that was on his mind at the moment. All he could think about was finishing the job he'd been given. But now he had to finish the showdown with Hannibal before he could do that job. Hold on! Maybe he can use this to his advantage. His job was to seek out and destroy the Oni's Jewel. He had his challenge! "The challenge is, the first one to find and destroy the Oni's Jewel wins!"

"What!" Hannibal demanded. "You can't…"

"I can, and I did, bean breath!" Clay said nonchalantly. "Now do you except, or give up?"

"Very well, I accept."

"Let's go, Xiaolin Showdown!"

The white of the marble walls went pitch black. The pedestal, the Gauntlets, and Saya vanished. Now, it was only Clay, Hannibal, and the Oni's Jewel left in the room, if they were still there. The Jewels black aura changed to a bright purple before it vanished instantly.

The purple glow reappeared just behind Hannibal. Clay activated the Two Ton Tunic, knocked Hannibal out of the way, and lunged for the Jewel. But just as suddenly as it had appeared, it vanished again. Hannibal next saw the jewel. He used the Moby Morpher to change into a falcon. He whipped passed Clays face, barely missing Clays face with his talons, and dove for it. But as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished again. Hannibal changed back into his normal form. As soon as his body had reformed, Clay's knuckles went slam against his face.

Hannibal yelped in pain. "What the hell was that for?" he demanded as he rubbed his cheek with this tentacle.

"I was saving that for Chase, but you'll do for now, seein' as how you messed with Saya yourself." Clay said, cracking his knuckles. "And this is just for bein' an ass!" he balled his hand into a fist again and slammed it into Hannibals stomach. Hannibal grabbed his gut and bent over, gasping for air.

Clay noticed that the glow had returned a few yards to his right. He dashed for it, but ended up tripping over the tail of the boa constrictor that Hannibal had morphed into. The evil bean then shifted into a gorilla, Clay's leg no in one of his hands, and he tossed Clay across the black plain. Hannibal chuckled before turning around to find that the jewel had vanished again. Clay, meanwhile, had gotten back to his feet. Thinking quickly, he activated the Two Ton Tunic, pulled it over his head, spun around a few times, and launched it at Hannibal. It crashed into his back, knocking the wind out of him again. But Hannibal regained his breath quickly and changed into a cannon. He launched a fifty pound lead ball at Clay. Clay barely had time to dodge before it went sailing past his face. Hannibal re-aimed and fired again. Clay grabbed this one and bounced it back at him. And just as the cannon ball was about to slam into cannon-Hannibals side, the jewel appeared in front of it. The Oni's Jewel was crushed into a powder in between the cannon ball and Hannibal.

The marble walls, the pedestal with the gauntlets, and Saya reappeared. Clay ended up standing next to Saya with the Two Ton Tunic, the Memory Charm Bracelet, and the Moby Morpher in his arms. Hannibal had returned to his miniscule size and was slouching in the corner, as far as they could tell. "Master Bean! Are you all right?" Saya asked, concerned.

"You haven't seen the last of me, boy!" with that, the Ying-Yang bird appeared out of nowhere and it and Hannibal flew out the window, vanishing into the slowly vanishing blood red clouds.

Everything was silent for a time. For the first time since the temple had been destroyed, Clay actually felt happy. He'd won what he needed to get his girl back, he'd destroyed the Oni's Jewel, thus lifting Chases curse on the world, and pretty son he'd have the last of his revenge done and over with. He turned to Saya to find that she was glaring at him in disgust.

"Oh, for the love of god! You still don't remember?" he demanded.

"Remember what?" Saya snapped. "I don't even know who you are!"

Clay rubbed his temple. "Maybe I should use this thing and get it over with." He mumbled, referring to the Memory Charm Bracelet. He stretched out his arm and whispered its name.

As the thin golden chain began to glow, Saya's memories began to flood back to her. The good and the bad. Everything that Hannibal had erased was coming back and all of his false memories were vanishing. Saya shook her head quickly as she snapped out of the trance. She looked around, trying to figure out where she was. And that's when she saw her savior.

"So, you remem…" Saya cut him off by planting a firm, passionate kiss on his lips. Clay was shocked at first, but quickly got into it, wrapping his arms around her back and kissing her back. A few minutes later they broke apart and just stood there hugging. Saya nestling her head under Clay's chin. They'd almost forgotten where they were. And if they didn't they didn't care. All that mattered was that they were together again. "Thank you Clay…" Saya said as she began to cry softly, "I love you."

"I love you too, Saya." Clay said quietly.

"And I love both of you. Now why don't you stop with the P.D.A. and get over here so that we can take Chase out already!"

The two broke apart and looked over at the door. There they saw their three team mates and Dojo. Omi was trying to decide whether to grimace at the sight of Clay and Saya or smile now that they were all back together. Rai had his arm around Kimiko's shoulders. Both were smiling and nodding. Dojo was sitting on Omi's shoulder looking annoyed.

Saya turned back to Clay and smiled. She kissed him quickly again before rushing over to Omi and giving him a big hug. I'm so happy to see you all again!" she announced as she stood up after pulling away from her younger brother.

"As am I." Chases voice rang through the chamber as he approached them from the hall. "Now I get to destroy my enemies and a traitor at the same time."

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(a/n) so, now that the Oni's Jewel is gone, that just leaves the matter that Chases has the team cornered. I hope you guys are excited for the next and final chapter. but don't worry, there will still be an epilogue and a secret document after chapter 17. so keep reviewing and so on. now I'll leave so I can start on chapter 17 and you guys can patiently (or not paitiently, which ever) wait for it. until then just think "here it comes. the big climax!" see ya.


	19. Chapter 17: Good Bye

(a/n) well, its been over a week since my last update. but now I can proudly say that chapter 17, the epic climax of this story, is finally up. I reveal nothing! now go and read!

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Chapter 17: Good Bye

They all froze as soon as they heard Chase's voice. He'd caught them while they were vulnerable, during the emotional reunion after saving the world. It happens every time. And yeah, usually the hero or heroes kills the villain at this point and makes a last second escape. But knowing Chase, that wasn't going to happen here. He was pissed, and nothing was going to get in his way.

Thinking quickly, Saya grabbed onto Omi's sleeve and pulled him into the corner where Chase couldn't see them. She pulled a small piece of folded paper and gave it to him. "Omi, do not read this until this is all over, ok?" Omi opened his mouth to protest, but Saya cut him off. "Omi, promise me that you wont read it until we're out of here!" she ordered harshly. Omi was a bit shocked by her serious tone. Sure, he hadn't known her for that long, but it still didn't seem like his sister to speak like that to anyone. Saya somehow sensed Omi's surprise and calmed down a bit. "Everything will be all right." she reassured him. "Just do as I say, ok?" Omi nodded as the two rejoined the group just in time to see Chase stop walking right in front of Raimundo, who was stand in the front of everyone else.

"So, it comes down to this." Chase chuckled. "Five teenagers up against one who, while he may no longer be worshiped like one, has the powers of a god. I admire your valor, especially you, Saya. Seeing as how I still have control over every muscle in your body. I could easily use you to destroy your friends and little brother."

"Guess again, Chase! I can mentally resist you without so much as trying!" Saya snapped. "And if that's true, then maybe I can resist you completely."

"That's my girl." Clay chuckled.

"Cute." Chase said. "But you will pay for mouthing off to your superior. How would you like to electrocute your little boyfriend to death? Would that be a suitable punishment?" Saya glared at him. Electricity started darting from her fingertips every now and then. "Do it." Chase muttered darkly.

"Fine." Saya's arm darted up and a bolt of lightning went hurtling towards Chases head, missing by mere inches. "That's just a taste of my… no, our power, Chase. We could send you hurtling back into the hole you crawled out of."

"Very well. But I don't wish to dirty my palace. I believe a change of scenery is in order."

LIMBO

The Monk next found themselves and Chase in an ever-expanding gray plane. There was nothing to it but an endless gray sky and ominous white fog. That's all there was to it. "What is this place?" Rai asked. A small puff of fog appeared before him as he breathed. Cold enough to see your own breath.

"This place has many names. The Endless Abyss; The House of the Damned; Horror's Hall; all very suitable. But today, it is most commonly called Limbo." Chase explained.

"So, why'd you bring us here?" Kim demanded.

"This is where our final battle shall take place. Which ever team losses will be trapped here for all eternity, left alone with nothing but their thoughts. Unable to live, unable to die, unable to be with others. The ultimate torture, wouldn't you say?" Chase crouched down, moving one arm in front of him while the other went behind. "Now, let's finish this!"

Chase launched at them, gliding over the fog so fast that they couldn't even defend themselves. Only Omi managed to jump out of the way in time. Chase looked back at the short monk, growling as he began to change into his dragon form. Once the transformation was complete, he jumped into the air and began a mid air battle with Omi.

Chase slashed at Omi with his claws. Omi jumped off the top of his head to avoid the attack and slammed the heel of his foot into the back of Chases head. Chase intentionally flipped forward and smacked Omi with his tail. Omi went diving towards the ground with Chase following close behind. Chase latched onto the front of Omi's shirt with his claws, bringing the monk close to his face, and took a deep breath. The back of his throat began to glow as the fire built up in his stomach. "Water!" a cannon of water came shooting out of Omi's forehead into Chase's mouth, both extinguishing the fire and chocking the beast at the same time. Omi ripped Chase's claw away from him, flipped backward and kicked Chase in the jaw. Chase went flying back, landing on his back with a thundering crash while Omi landed gracefully on his feet, smirking in his victory. The dragon jumped back to his feet and began to suck in as much air as he could. "Ares Fire Ball!" He shouted before shooting a massive orb of flames out of his mouth. Omi summoned his power over water to create a veil of liquid around him. The water ultimately canceled the fire ball when it made contact. But as soon as Omi was back on the ground again, he felt Chases claws rip at his chest and his tail slam against his cheek. Omi went flying towards his team mates. To them, it looked like he was losing this fight and bad. But amazingly, their little friend managed to land on his feet, staggering at first as he clutched his bleeding chest, but continue to fight. But by this point Omi was getting weak and Chase had barely begun to fight. Chase released another "Ares Fire Ball", knocking Omi on his back, unconscious.

Next it was Raimundo's turn to fight. He summoned his power over the wind to rise a few inches off of the ground. He paused briefly only to let Chase make eye contact with him. With that, Rai rushed at him. Rai clenched his hand into a fist and punched at Chase's face. Chase, however, ducked to the side and slammed his tail into Rai's back. Rai fell to the ground with a thud and before he could get up Chases slammed his foot onto his back, digging his claws into the flesh. Rai knew he couldn't push him off, so he went with the alternative. He took a deep breath and began to summon his wind power. "Wind!" air burst from his body, sending Chase flying off. Rai staggered back to his feet and quickly readied himself to continued the fight. Chase had somehow landed on his feet, but remained stationary. His eyes were closed. It looked like he was building his energy for an attack. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open. "Hand of Hades!" The next thing Rai knew, he felt his energy being drained from his body. It was slow and steady, but eventually it would catch up with him. He had to act fast. He summoned his wind power again and flew over to Chase. Once there he unleashed a barrage of kicks and punches. The first few hit Chase dead on, but as time went on they became slower and easier for Chase to dodge. Eventually Chase found an opening and he slammed his knuckles into Rai's gut. Rai stumbled back to the ground, holding onto his stomach with both hands as he gasped for air. Chase took advantage of his condition by slamming the spiked side of his tail against Rai's head. When he hit the ground, blood was gushing out of at least three gashes along the side of his head.

"Raimundo!" Kimiko shouted.

_That's right._ Chase thought, _come save him. Make your demise quick and easy in your rage. _But for some reason, Kim didn't move. "What's wrong?" Chase called. "Are you paralyzed with fear?"

"No." Kimiko said. "I just wanted you to let your guard down!"

Before Kimiko's words even registered in Chase's mind he felt Clays fist slam against the back of his head, sending him flying towards Kim. She waited until just the right moment before doing a back flip, kicking Chase in the Jaw and sending him flying upward. "Fire!" Kimiko's hands were engulfed in white hot flames. She started sending uncountable fire balls soaring aimlessly into the air. By now, Chase had regained his concentration and dodged each one easily. He dove back to the ground, landing just behind Kim before he spun around and slammed his tail into her side, knocking her to the ground. Chase raised his clays in front of his face, savoring the moment of his triumph over her. He readied himself to lurch out with his claws and rip her heart out, but before he could Kim pulled her legs toward her chest and launched them back at him, slamming her feet into his face. Chase stumbled back as Kimiko staggered back to her feet. Chase glared at her as he pulled his claw away from his reptilian nostrils. Blood! She'd actually made him bleed! "Ok, now I'm mad." He breathed. He stretched his arms out to their full extent, holding the palms of his hand towards Kimiko. "Poseidon's Trident!" a clear blue veil appeared in front of him and a super-pressured cannon of water came bursting out, much like a super charged Orb of Tornami. Kimiko could react quick enough to avoid it and took the full force of the water. She flew back who knows how far and landed on her back, gasping for breath from both having the wind knocked out of her and the sudden lack of oxygen. Chase slowly made his way over to her. Once there, he wrapped one claw around her mid-area and lifted her in the air. He chuckled as he watched her struggle.

"So, what they say is true." Chase said. "Big things do come in small packages… I wonder what's inside this pretty little thing." He began to squeeze, watching as Kim felt the life slowly being squeezed out of her.

"**NO!**" The next thing he knew, Raimundo's foot was crashing against Chase's face and he was sent flying back. Rai managed to catch Kim as she went flying out of Chase's claw and was now cradling her in his arms. The mixture of love and rage said everything, but Rai said what he felt anyway. "If you** ever** touch the girl I love again you'll be happy to never leave this place… because I'll make your life a living **hell**!"

Chase grinned as he forced himself back to his feet. "That may be so," He chuckled. "But the Hand of Hades is still affecting you. You used all of your energy in that last kick. I can see it in your eyes; you can barely stand, let alone fight me again!"

"Maybe he can't, but we can!"

Chase turned around to find Clay and Saya standing side by side, glaring at him. Because of this, he failed to notice by Kimiko and Raimundo pass out and fall to the ground. "And what makes you think that you can do any better than your friends?" Chase demanded.

"Because," Saya said. "They didn't have these." The two held out their arms to reveal that each of them was wearing two of the five Gauntlets. Clay had the Emerald and the Ruby Gauntlets while Saya had the Diamond and Sapphire ones. The Amethyst was nowhere to be seen.

"No mercy, baby?" Clay asked clenching his fist.

"Tear him apart." Saya replied, cracking her knuckles.

Clay raised his arm with the Emerald Gauntlet. He called out its name and punched the air in Chase's direction. An explosion of glowing green energy exploded from Clays hand and headed straight for Chase. The blast was so intense that it actually split the fog, revealing the pure white ground below. Chase barely had time to jump out of the way before the blast incinerated him. Chase let out a roar and charged at them, getting ready release another "Ares Fire Ball." Clay and Saya stood their ground. Saya activated the Sapphire Gauntlet just as Chase released the massive fire ball from his jaws. The fire ball exploded on contact with the energy shield and black some covered the area. As suddenly as they'd appeared, Clay and Saya came charging out of the smoke. Saya had glowing white energy blade extended from the Diamond Gauntlet while Clay's hands were glowing bright green, ready to blast Chase again. Saya slashed with her blade. Chase barely had time to move his arm in the way, inflicting a huge gash along his forearm. Before he even had time to roar in pain, Clay punched hi in the stomach. The plasma on his fists from the gauntlet burned him to the point where some of the flesh on his stomach actually turned black. Chase fell back. However, he used his tail to launch himself back up and slashed at them with his claws. Saya activated the Sapphire Gauntlet again to block. As soon as the shield vanished, Clay blasted Chase with the Emerald Gauntlet. Chase took the full force of the blast. Amazingly, he didn't move at all. But most of his body had turned black and covered in ash afterwards. Amazingly, he still had some fight left in him. He lashed out again, managing to make a pretty deep cut in Saya's leg before she could activate the Gauntlet. Knowing that Clay would be more worried about her than watching him, he next jumped back to his feet, spun around, and slammed his tail into Clays back. He felt some miner pain because of the burns. But it was nothing compared to his desire to win. Chase took a deep breath, drawing in as much air as he possibly could. "Wings of Hermes!" He exhaled a gust of wind that had the force of a hurricane. Saya and Clay went flying into the air, not able to control their movements at all. _I've had enough of this._ Clay thought. "Ruby Gauntlet!" Clay was suddenly engulfed by a massive ball of flames. He body curled up into the fetal position against his will and he started to fall. Before he knew it, Clay had crashed into Chase with a thundering boom in a fiery explosion. The fog in the surrounding area literally disappeared in the resulting shockwaves.

Now they knew why Dojo had warned them about the Ruby Gauntlet. In anyplace but this it would've caused massive damage to both the surrounding area and people and the user. Clay, having had no idea how powerful the Ruby Gauntlet was, couldn't prepare himself for the impact and was knocked out. While Raimundo and Kimiko had amazingly stayed unconscious through it, Omi had woken up and became fully alert as soon as it hit. Even Saya, who both came crashing to the ground and was about as weak as Kim and Rai were, managed to stay awake. But what was the most astonishing was Chase… he was still standing.

Chases body had reverted to its human form and was completely covered in ash and charred flash. He was breathing extremely heavily and his eyes glowed like the sun. Anyone could easily see that even Chase, who prided himself on showing no weakness and expressing no pain, was severely wounded and could experiencing the worst of what pain could bring. And yet there he stood, determined to fight, refusing to give up, ready to die fighting rather than limp home. One had to admire his strength, but enough was enough.

"Is that… all you… you've got?" Chase huffed. "You're a… all path… pathetic!" Chase glanced around. Only Omi and Saya were conscious and both seemed too weak to move. "C… c'mon! You're go… going to give… up that ea… easily?"

"N… never!" Saya said, barely loud enough for Chase to hear. He forced herself back to her feat and began to limp over to Clay. "We'll never quite, Chase. So long as there's a slight chance that you'll succeed, even if means our own lives, we'll fight to the end."

Chace laughed. "I admire you, Saya. You can mentally resist my control, you speak to m truthfully and without fear of consequences, and even now you say you'll fight to the bitter end. You're a brave child, but a wise person would've thrown in the towel by now."

Saya kneeled down next to Clay and took the Gauntlets from him. She slowly and painfully latched the Ruby and Emerald Gauntlets around her ankles. "Well then," she said as she pulled the Amethyst Gauntlet out of her sleeve, "I guess I'm the dumbest person you've met."

All five Gauntlets began to glow and Saya was lifted into the air. The Diamond on her left wrist, the Sapphire on her left wrist, the Emerald on her left ankle, the Ruby on her right ankle, and the Amethyst hovering out in front of her. She felt power surging throughout her body. The wound on her leg healed instantly and she quickly regained a lot more than her usual strength. The power was incredible, unimaginable, addicting. Anyone who experienced this could easily tell why Dashi hid these Shen Gong Wu so well. The power was too much for any one person to bear. Then again, this was probably the only thing that would give her the power the defeat Chase right now. And she was going to take it.

"The power of all five Gauntlets combined. I never thought I'd have to face this." Chase said under his breath. He smiled weakly. "Well, are you going to end this or what?" he called out. "Use the power now or I'll end your life!"

And just like that, it was over. A blinding white light erupted from Saya's body. Omi, the only conscious being around other than those two, was knocked out again just from the feeling of Saya's power. When he, Clay, Raimundo, and Kimiko awoke again, they were back in the temple grounds. Everything was still destroyed and many random Shen Gong Wu were scattered around, but they were back… and Saya was nowhere.

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(a/n) so, what did you think of this chapter that was basically one big fight scene? I personally think that this is one of my best chapters. also, I'd like to say that this is the final **CHAPTER**. dont worry, there is still an epilogue coming your way. I would just finish this with a huge cliff hanger like that and just end it. however, I think I'll make you work for that epilogue. i'd like at least 5 new reviews before I post it. until then, I'll be seeing ya. 


	20. Epilogue & Sequal Preview

(a/n) well, I havent gotten five reviews yet... but Im to excited that I finished to care (and the fact that I only need one more to amke five new reviews adds to my decision). so here it is. the epilogue that many of my loyal readers have been waiting patiently for since the begining. and, as an added bonus, I've added a small preview of the upcoming sequal. dunno what Im gunna do now that Im done with this. I'll probably work on my Zelda story alone for a while and then start on anothe project. what that new project will be, you'll have to wait and find out. anyway, I hope you all enjoy the final enstallment of The Fifth Dragon.

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Epilogue

_Omi, Clay, Kimiko, Raimundo, and Dojo_

_If you're reading this then I'm either dead or I've simply vanished. If I'm dead, then don't bother reading the rest of this. Otherwise, I've got some things I need to get off my chest and I never got the chance to say it in person._

_I know you all wanted life to go back to normal after we beat Chase. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen for a while. I just need some time to clear my head. All these memories of what I've done in the past few months are haunting me. I would apologize to Raimundo about the whole Hitsuji Hammer thing, but otherwise he and Kim probably wouldn't have gotten together, so I think you two owe me for that one. And Omi, I know that you've gone most of your life not knowing that you've had even one family member and I'm sorry to have to leave you alone again. But you should understand, Chase had control of you once too. And finally, Clay. I probably haven't said this to you yet, and if I have it was after I wrote this. Still, I feel like I need to tell you anyway. I love you, Clay. And I hope you feel the same about me when I get back._

_But until that day comes, there are some thins I'd like you all to do for me. Omi, don't be slacking off while I'm gone. I don't want to have to whip you back into shape when I get back. Rai and Kim, don't be getting to close. I don't want any unexpected team mates when I get back. Clay, if I find out that you've been seeing anyone else I swear I'll rip your head off…just kidding. But seriously, stay away from other girls. Dojo… see you later. And finally, I'd like you all to apologize to Master Fung for me. He may be a forgiving man, but I don't think I'll be able to face him about… well, you probably know._

_Don't worry about me. I live on my own for seven years of my life and I can do it again. And I'll be back one day. I don't know when, but I will. Until then, just keep me in mind._

_Love,_

_Saya_

That's what was written in the note that Saya gave to Omi. The group took turns reading it over and over again, trying to see if they'd missed something or not. Dojo was a bit pissed off tat all she said about him was "see you later." But he didn't show it. Clay was the last to read it before the group flew off to show Master Fung. When they returned Clay walked off, saying that he was just going for a walk and hadn't been seen since. Omi was depressed for the first few days, but returned to his usual self eventually. Rai and Kim had their time to think about her as well, but weren't nearly as emotional as the other two. When Master Fung returned a week later, patched up and in a wheel chair, Omi, Kim and Rai were given the job of cleaning up the Shen Gong Wu and do what they could to rebuild the temple. Clay still had yet to return by then.

Omi, Kim, and Rai were outside collecting the Shen Gong Wu. Picking up two or three at a time and carrying them back to the vault over crumbled walls and shattered statues. They'd been at it for hours in complete silence. There was really nothing to talk about. Everyone just wanted to get the work done and be done with it.

"Raimundo, Kimiko, come and look at this." Omi called. The other two walked casually over to Omi to see what he was looking at. It was a small, gold and bronze mouse statue with small rubies in the eye sockets. "The Hoduku Mouse?" Kim asked. "But I thought that Jack dropped it in a pool of Lava."

"Well, the Emperor Scorpion lasted fifteen hundred years in the earth's core." Rai said. "Maybe most Shen Gong Wu can survive in extreme heat."

"You guys really don't get the picture, do you?" Omi asked. "We've been given a golden opportunity. We could use the Hoduku Mouse to undo this. Not all of it, mind you, since Saya isn't here, but we can at least rebuild the temple."

"Yeah, uh, reality check, Omi." Rai broke in. "Saya was the one who used the Roosters Crow, which caused half the damage. And that, in turn, activated the Sleeping Boar, which caused the rest of the damage. She's the cause of all of this and she's not here. So tell me again what makes since in what you're saying."

"True, Saya was the one who usedthe Roosters Crow. But, Kimiko was the one who won it in the first place." Omi explained. "Perhaps if she used the Hoduku mouse to un-win it…"

"The Saya never would've had a chance to use it in the first place!" Kimiko said excitedly. "You're a genius, Omi!"

"I know." Omi said. He scratched the back of his head and grinned as his cheeks turned pink, telling the others that he was a bit embarrassed. He bent over and picked the mouse statue off the ground before handing it to Kimiko. "Now then, Kimiko, I would be most appreciative if we didn't have to completely rebuild this place."

"You got it!" Kim replied. She took the small statue from her friend, taking a few short seconds to gaze into its ruby eyes before holding it in the air and activating it. "Hoduku Mouse!" And just like that, everything as fixed: every building looked almost brand new; statues and tapestries reformed and returned to their rightful places around the temple; and all the Shen Gong Wu returned to their spots in the vault, except for the Hoduku Mouse of course. Everything looked perfect again. But it still felt like something was missing, like there was a big, invisible hole that rebuilding the temple just couldn't fill. They knew what would, and odds are Clay would be back soon. And who knows when or if Saya would come back. As far as they knew, she could be dead… or worse.

THE NEXT DAY

Kimiko was sitting alone in the kitchen, slumping over the table staring randomly into space. She'd been thinking a lot lately, and not just about her missing friend. It was about something Rai said back in the battle with Chase, after he'd saved her from Chase's vice grip. She lifted her head up and propped it on her arm as she looked out the window and her thoughts drifted back to that fateful few minutes.

_A foggy image of Chase holding her up in the air with one arms back in Limbo appeared in her head. She struggled to free herself as Chase's claw slowly began to crush her rib cage. It was getting harder for her to breath and her heart was beating rapidly, working to keep her alive for as long as possible. All she could hear was Chase's laughing until he made that threat that obviously meant that he'd squeeze until her guts came flying out of her. His grip suddenly tightened and she gasped for what she thought would be her last breath. But then a loud "__**NO!**__" and the sound of running footsteps coming towards them. But she was too busy trying to breath to even consider what it was. Then Rai came flying out of nowhere and slammed the heel of his foot against Chase's jaw. The impact knocked her from his grasp and Rai caught her in his arms. He and Chase had a short glare off before Rai said the very words that had been plaguing her mind for the last week. "If you __**ever**__ touch the girl I love again…"_

Her thought's cut off there, for that was all she needed to hear. He'd said that if Chase ever touched the girl he **loved**. It was just the fact that that word was used that bugged her for some reason. No… maybe it wasn't just the word. Maybe it was the way he said it. She couldn't tell if he actually meant it or if he just said it in the heat of the moment.

It's not like she didn't want Rai to love her. That was exactly what she'd been wanting since before they got together. But still…she didn't expect to hear it so soon. They'd been together for, what, a month? Maybe a month and a half? It just didn't seem like something to say so soon, even if the person that said it actually meant it. Then again, now that she thought about it, she probably would've said the same thing if she were in the same situation. "Or would I" she asked herself. "I dunno… ugh! This is giving me a headache."

"What's giving you a headache, baby?" Rai asked as he walked into the room. He walked over to the table, sat down across from her, then used his wind powers to bring over a couple apples from the basket on the counter across the room. He took a bit before saying, "Must be pretty bad if you're actually complaining about it."

"Oh, it's…" she stopped herself before she could say it was nothing, because it obviously was. And knowing her boyfriend, he wouldn't stop pestering her about it until she told him. Plus, she'd been wondering if he actually meant what he said. Why not just ask him, right? "Actually, something has been bothering me." She corrected herself. "It's about when you saved me from Chase back in Limbo. I want to know, did… did you mean what you said back there?"

"Oh, you mean about me kicking his ass if he ever touched you again? Yeah, I'd beat him all the way to mars if I had to." Rai said, obviously not getting the message.

"As touching as that is, Rai, that's not what I mean. Back there, you said if he ever touched the girl you… the girl you **loved**." She paused, waiting to see how Rai would react. He just stared at her bug-eyed with a half chewed bit of apple in his mouth. "Is that true, Rai? Do you love me?"

This came as a complete shock to Rai. He didn't realize what he was saying back there, he just said let his mouth run, not knowing what he was going to say. Except for the threatening part to Chase, he didn't remember a word he'd said that day. He was to busy worrying about Kimiko to realize any of that. The second he saw Kim in danger, he jumped into action and the rest was history. All he wanted to do was protect Kimiko, his best friend and the girl of his dreams… the girl he was willing to die for.

"No, Kimiko… I don't love you." He said, hanging his head so that Kim couldn't see his face. Kim was about to say something when he looked back up at her with a loving smile. "Love doesn't even begin to describe how I feel about you."

Without another word needing to be spoken, Kim launched herself across the table, the next thing he knew, Rai was laying on the floor with Kim laying on top of him, kissing him like they'd done so many times already. But this time was different. There was no lust or yearning to it at all. It was just a passionate, loving kiss between a young couple… actually, lovers was more the word now.

It was quite a while before they broke apart, Kimiko resting her forehead onto Raimundo's while the two of them caught their breath. They didn't even notice Master Fung roll his wheel chair, with Dojo sitting on his shoulder, past the open kitchen door, stop for a second to make sure he'd seen what he thought he did, and then roll away, chuckling quietly to himself. "What?" Dojo asked. "You're not going to intervene? You know what that's probably going to lead to."

"Relax, Dojo Kanojo Cho. Those two know how to control themselves." Master Fung said cheerfully. "And besides, a little happiness is just what these children need right now."

JUST OUTSIDE THE TEMPLE WALLS

Clay stood at the edge of a forest just outside the temple walls. He was dirty, smelled like fish, and his clothes were tattered here and there. He'd been living in that forest for the last week, living off the land, trying to collect his thoughts. That's all he needed, some time alone. But he knew that the others might be worried about him by now. It had been a week, after all.

He'd read Saya's note at least ten times, just making sure he was sure about every word. For some reason, the thought of Saya being gone, possibly even dead, changed him completely. Sadness on the inside, angry depression on the outside. However you wanted to describe it, he just wasn't the same Clay anymore. Sure, as was the case with everyone, his thoughts would gradually drift away from his problem over time and he'd return to his normal, Texan stereotype self. But for now, he was just cold and uncaring.

Clay sighed as he pulled his hat over his face. "Why is this so hard on me?"

"Why indeed?"

Clay looked up to where the voice had come from. Omi was sitting atop of the tall stone wall, wearing his Xiaolin robes for the first time (that Clay could recall) since the day before Jacks raid on the temple. "I thought I'd find you out here." Omi said with a smile as he jumped down from his perch.

"Well, you thought right." Clay said, just as emotionlessly as he felt.

"You know, you're not the only one who misses her. She is my only living family, after all." Omi explained. "And Raimundo and Kimiko may not be as close to her as you or I, but they still think of her as a great friend. We all miss her just as much as you do. You don't have to deal with it alone."

Clay was silent for a moment, trying to find the right words to respond with. He couldn't find them, so he just went with the first thing that came to him. "I just don't see how this is so easy on you, Omi. Like you said, she's your only living family, and you barely seem to miss her at all. She's just my girlfriend and look at me, running off into the wood for a week without so much as a goodbye."

"You think it's easy one me?" Omi asked as he sat down under a tree, the one next to the one Clay was leaning against. "You don't know how hard it is for me to so much as talk about the subject, much less deal with it with a smile." Just to prove his point, Omi looked up to his friend with a big, cheap grin on his face.

Clay laughed sheepishly. "You know something, Omi, you're right. You probably had it harder than any of us and you take it with a smile on your face. And look at me…"

"Do not beat yourself up, my friend." Omi said as he got back to his feet. "Just do me a favor and come home. Raimundo is already planning your funeral."

Without another word, the two friends walked up the path back to the temple. They both had all but forgotten about Saya, and only wanted to go back to their normal lives… or at least as normal as life gets when one has control over the elements, lives with a vault of ancient mystical objects just beneath your feet, two of your friends are glued to each others sides and making out half the time, and, of course, the constant threat of ten thousand years of darkness. But hey, that was life for the monks of the Xiaolin Order, and that's the life they wanted.

A ways down the road from the temple, a hooded figure watched as the young monk and the cowboy walked back to their home. The figure had its arms crossed and was looking down at the ground. A single tear fell from the darkness of the hood and onto the ground. The figure looked back up to the temple and removed its hood, revealing a long mane of golden blond hair. "Way to go, little bro… way to go." Saya turned around and began to walk away from her home. Knowing that one day she'd return and when she did it would be for good.

* * *

(a/n) originally, I wasn't going to include this next part in the epilogue. but, I wanted to leave you guys with at least a small cliff hanger, so I added this small preview of the sequel. this wont reveal much at all except perhaps a few new characters who remain nameless throughout the next few paragraphs, so dont worry.so, enough of my talking. why don't I shut up so you can read it already.

* * *

SIX MONTHS AND ONE WEEK LATER

The sun glowed brightly in the cloudless sky over the Xiaolin Temple. Down in the yards below, nine figures were having a barbeque/ pool party to celebrate yet another defeat of the Heylin Witch Wuya. Master Fung was standing at the grill barbequing pork chops (in the case of two people, tofu chops) with Dojo napping atop his head. Not far off, four girls were lounging on lawn chairs next to a makeshift pool (made by Clay stomping on the ground, creating a huge hole and Omi filling it with the Orb of Tornami). Three of the girls (the first a red head from France, the next a short haired brunet from Spain, and the last with long, jet-black hair from Australia) were napping while the last, Kimiko Tohomiko was lying on her side watching four boys off in the distance play soccer. She couldn't help but burst out laughing at the many times Omi managed to slam the ball into Rai's face. The teams were Rai and Clay against Omi and the new guy (a black teenager from South Africa).

Omi slammed his foot into the soccer ball and sent it flying towards Clay in the goal. Clay dove in the way and managed to block it. Unfortunately, the ball went bouncing off of him and flew into a small grove of trees near by. "My bad!" Clay called out. "I got it!"

Clay went to get the ball, but before he was even half way to the goal, the ball came flying back out, soaring past his head, and straight into the goal he'd been guarding only minutes earlier. Clay turned to look at the ball, muttering, "What in the name of my great granddaddies world famous Pork and Bean just happened?" under his breath. He turned back to the grove to find exactly what he'd been hoping to see for the last half a year.

There she stood in front of the small collection of trees, hands placed proudly on her hips with a smugly happy look on her face. "So, whose team am I on?" Saya asked.

* * *

(a/n) and that's the end. I hope you all enjoyed my first Xiaolin Showdown fanfic: The Fifth Dragon, and are looking forward to its sequal which I have finally decided will be entitled: "Seven Sins". a mysteriously vague title indeed, eh? for those of you who review, I expect speculations on what "Seven Sins" will be about and who these four new people at the temple (as seen in "six months and one week later") are. I can, however, confirm right now that they're not Xiaolin Dragons. so just think about it. until nex time, and next story, this is Ojex... shutting up. 


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